Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M M/M
Fandom: EXO (BAND)
Relationship: Byun Baekhyun/ Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Lu Han/Oh Sehun
Character: Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Joonmyun | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Park Chanyeol , Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Kim Joonmyun | Suho, Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Kim
Jongdae | Chen, Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Kim Jongin | Kai, Oh Sehun, Lu Han, Wu Yi Fan | Kris,
Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - The Proposal, Fusion Alternate Universe , inspired by the movie The
Proposal, it's my favorite movie, I Had To, there's no sex, they might as well be virgins, lol,
Angst , Fluff and Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, the forest scene,
Domestic Fluff, Humor, Language, Baekhyun-centric, Everyone Is Gay
Stats: Published: - Chapters: 9/9 Words: 71,012

The Proposal
jacktbfh

Summary:
The Proposal AU where Byun Baekhyun, Satan himself, concocts up a brilliant plan that will most definitely fool the
entirety of the United States Government into letting him stay in the States. The only downfall is that it involves his
poor intern, Chanyeol, who only just wanted to attend his grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. Chaos ensues.
Chen is the master of creating uncomfortableness. Everyone is gay.

Notes:
I just recently became an EXO-L. I'm talking, like, maybe four weeks ago. But I had a dream, and it was of that scene
in the movie 'The Proposal' where Margaret is dancing in the forest with Gammy, except Baekhyun was the one
dancing instead of Margaret, and I just thought...perfect. Brilliant. Yes. So here am I. But like I said, I'm a newer fan, so
if you read something and think "they would never say/do that" well, sorry.

Also I'm not as familiar with Tao, Kris,and Lu Han because again, I'm new here, but I thought it was wrong to write a
fanfic without them so I tried. I quickly fell in love with Tao though, which is depressing. Anyways. I hope you enjoy this
story. It hasn't/won't be beta'd, so if you notice a mistake kindly point it out to me if you wish. Comments are always
appreciated as well! Thanks for reading!

(Edit: It is now December of 2017 and I am a Real Exo-l (in the sense that I am now no longer only 4- weeks-deep in
the fandom.) So I realize that some of what I've written may be cringey as all hell and I AM SO SO SORRY. I was a
newbie, please forgive me. Thanks.)
Chapter 1 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/20995967) : Chapter 1
Byun Baekhyun prides himself on many things. He dresses decent on most days that he has to go out into the public.
He owns a rather elegant apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. He’s kept a potted plant alive for the
past three and a half years, and really, how impressive is that? But if there’s anything that he’s especially proud of, it’s
his job and the way he’s managed to climb up the ladder of EXO Productions in only a short matter of time.

That’s not to say it wasn’t difficult, though. Baekhyun still shudders at the memories of running coffee orders for
pretentious men without so much as an ounce of talent in their entire body, all the while draining himself mentally and
physically over writing and producing his own music in what little free time he had. However, now he is one of those
pretentious men (minus the no talent aspect -- he’d like to consider himself at least a little talented) and honestly he
wouldn’t rather have it any other way. It’s what he deserves after having to metaphorically kill himself for nearly four
years.

“You were supposed to schedule the appointment for 9 a.m. It’s currently 9:25 in the morning and David Burd is not
sitting in that recording room.” Baekhyun grits out, his fingernails digging into the wood of the younger man’s desk.
According to the office-gossip that circulates around the building on most days, the kid sitting in the swivel chair in
front of him is one of the most intimidating junior-producers in the company. Baekhyun doesn’t see it though. Chris is
shaking, literally, and his face is so pale that it almost resembles the skin tone of Baekhyun’s thighs in the winter.
Which is hilarious, actually, because Chris is half-Hispanic.

“Our deadline for having this song recorded is the 27th. It’s the 12th, and we’re still working on the first verse.”
Baekhyun pushes himself up from the desk and settles for crossing his arms, glaring down at the younger man who’s
still huddled into his chair. “Whose job was it to schedule the recording appointment for today, Mr. Davis?”

Chris shudders and ducks his head down towards the floor. Technically the secretaries at the front office are supposed
to schedule and confirm all of the appointments with the artists, but Baekhyun had specifically asked for Chris to
schedule the recording session that way they could get a head start on the recording process. He’ll be damned if he
doesn't make this kid feel bad for every wrong thing he’s done in his life. Failure doesn’t exactly sit nicely with
Baekhyun.

“It was mine, Mr. Byun. However, you didn’t give me any sort of contact information and-” “You majored in
Communication, right? At Columbia?” Baekhyun cuts in, his eyes quite literally piercing through the younger. Chris
nods and swallows whatever words he was planning on saying. “Then why in the hell did you not use the
communication skills you learned to get the contact information yourself? Are you incompetent, Mr. Davis? Do I need
to find someone else to do the job?”

“No! No, Mr. Byun-”

“That’s too bad, really. I liked you.” Baekhyun says, grabbing the name card holder from the edge of Chris’s desk. He
pulls the plastic card that reads ‘C. Davis’ on it out from it’s hold, and then flicks it into the

trash bin sitting next to the door. “I disagree though. I want your things out of here by 6 p.m. I’ll have someone come
help you transfer them to your car.”

“Wait, are you firing me? Mr. Byun-”

“It really was a pleasure working with you for the short time you were capable of completing your job. Have a nice day,
Mr. Davis.” Baekhyun drawls out sarcastically, cutting Chris off one last time. He turns and faces towards the door,
throwing Chris a two-fingered wave behind his back before making his way out of the small office and towards his
own. Contrary to popular belief, Baekhyun actually does have a substantial amount of work he needs to get done
before the work day ends. He’s already wasted enough time on his inept employees.

When he finally does get back to his office, he’s surprised to find that it’s empty, missing his annoying but-proficient
intern and his usual cup of coffee. It’s not the first time Chanyeol has been late, but Baekhyun is already running on
thin ice so he huffs and flops back into his chair in a rather dramatic manner.

Honestly, Chanyeol is both a blessing and a curse in Baekhyun’s book. When he was first promoted to his spot as a
top music producer, Baekhyun didn’t know a single person, let alone have any friends in or outside of his work. He had
his brother, who he talked to daily, but all of his childhood friends still lived in Korea and hardly contacted him unless it
was about something important. So that left Baekhyun to his rather boring life, which he’s since filled with various
television shows and his obsession with keeping houseplants alive. That is until the joy that is Chanyeol came into his
life, and honestly Baekhyun doesn’t even really like being around him, but the kid (by 7 months, hardly) offers up a
decent joke now and again and he isn’t as helpless as some of the others in the company. Baekhyun wouldn’t
consider him a friend, not by a long shot, but if there was anyone in New York he’d willingly converse with, it’d be
Chanyeol. Even if it’s just to ask him to run another errand or work an extra shift.

“I’m sorry I’m late, my alarm clock didn’t go off and-”

“I fired Chris Davis.” Baekhyun looks up from the spot he’d been staring at on his carpet, and is met with a mostly
disheveled man with two cups of coffee.

“Oh?” Chanyeol sets one cup down, and then runs a hand through the mop of hair on top of his hair. It reveals his
Yoda-like ears, which Baekhyun kind of hates. They stick out and make him look like an oversized puppy.

“Yes. He didn’t schedule the recording session with David Burd, and now we’re going to be rushing to get the song
done by the deadline.”

“You mean Lil Dickey?”

“David, Chanyeol. We call him David in this office.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes and reaches for his coffee. He can tell just
by touching the outside of it that it’s cold and has probably been sitting out for awhile while Chanyeol rushed around.
He sighs and takes a gulp anyways.

“Yeah. Sure. David. So what are you going to do?”

“ We’re going to see if he can come in over the weekend to record what we missed today. So that means I need you in
the office for a good amount of time these next two days.”

“Ah.” Chanyeol replies, shaking his head. “I actually have a thing.”

Baekhyun eyes him, because if he isn’t allowed a life, then his intern isn’t either.

“Is it a funeral?”

“No?”

“Is someone terminally ill, with the potential of there being a funeral held for them?” “No.”

“Great! So you’re free.” Baekhyun swivels in his chair, and comes face-to-face with his computer. It’s in sleep mode,
but a simple flick of the mouse and it’s suddenly awake and working. Baekhyun clicks on his email icon and waits for
whatever Chanyeol has prepared as a reply.

“Fine. Let me call my parents, though, and tell them I won’t be able to make it.”

Baekhyun doesn’t really care what it is he can’t make it to, just waves for him to continue on behind his back. He hears
Chanyeol mess around with his phone for a few seconds and then, expecting him to leave the office, clicks on an
email he’s just received from the production HQ. Except, Chanyeol doesn’t leave the office, and instead there’s the
sound of dialing filling the small space. Baekhyun swivels back around in his chair and glares at the younger man.
He’s about to say something, or scold Chanyeol and make him leave, but then a voice picks up on the other end of the
phone and he’s effectively cut off.

“Chanyeol! It’s 9:45, what are you doing calling me while at work?” The voice sounds overly-friendly and enthusiastic,
and Baekhyun is already annoyed. He huffs and leans back in his chair, his head tilting upwards as he prays to
whoever is listening for a new intern. Chanyeol can be helpful at times, but good God he’s a head-case.

“Hi eomma!” Chanyeol says, his voice full of cheer while he smiles down at the phone. Baekhyun scoffs because he
stopped calling his mother eomma when he was five .

“I was just calling you to let you know that I’m not going to be able to make it back for the party this weekend.”

There’s a pause, and even though Baekhyun is annoyed and he can feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, he
feels himself nervously waiting for a reply. He even glances at Chanyeol, finding the younger staring sadly down at his
phone.

Whatever. Baekhyun had to miss his best friend's wedding while he was interning. “Oh.” the voice, Chanyeol’s mother,
spits out. It sounds sad and disappointed and Baekhyun kind of wants to throw his stapler at Chanyeol so he’ll leave
the office. He doesn’t need to feel bad about making Chanyeol do his job .

“Chanyeol?” This time the voice is gruff and throaty, and Baekhyun finds himself flinching. He watches as Chanyeol
does the same, looking slightly uncomfortable. “When are you going to quit working for Satan himself?”

Baekhyun does pick up the stapler this time, holding it up as if he’s going to chuck it, and Chanyeol ducks behind the
potted tree in the corner of the office. He doesn’t hold his laughter back though, and Baekhyun glares at him. It really
isn’t funny.

“Not any time soon, Dad. This place pays too good, and I think I’m finally on Baekhyun’s good side.” Not a chance ,
Baekhyun mouths at the younger, lowering his hand back down to his desk. Chanyeol climbs out from behind the tree
and chuckles, both at Baekhyun and his father grumbling on the other end of the phone. A few seconds pass before it
sounds like the phone is being passed between people, and then Chanyeol’s mom speaks again.

“He didn’t mean it like that, sweetheart. We just miss you. But we understand.”

“I’m sorry, I really wanted to be there. Tell Halmi Happy Birthday for me though, and that I love her.” Now Baekhyun
really doesn’t feel bad. If it’s just his grandmother’s birthday, then it shouldn’t even be a big deal. Plus, how could he
feel bad for someone who still calls his grandma Halmi ? He’s not really sure what’s up with the odd names, especially
because Chanyeol is 24 years old , but in addition to not feeling bad Baekhyun also finds himself wanting to fire
another person today.

He’s disgusted.

“I will,” Chanyeol’s mother pauses, and then, “but really, you need to quit working for that man.” “I’ll take it into
consideration, as always.” Chanyeol laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I have to go, eomma.”

Baekhyun tunes the younger man out as he says his goodbyes to his family, rubbing at his temples to try to relieve
some of the pain that’s accumulated there. It’s not even 10 a.m. and his day has already gone to shit. Not that his
intern’s parents not liking him is too much of a hassle, but still. Being compared to Satan himself is never a confidence
booster.

“So, Satan, what’s on the schedule for today?”

Baekhyun ignores the sarcastic question, opening his eyes to glare at Chanyeol instead. “Do they tell you to quit
often?”
“Oh, only everyday.” Chanyeol replies, shrugging his shoulders as if it’s nothing. He then pockets his cell phone and
grabs Baekhyun’s physical calendar off of the corner of his desk. It’s got every appointment, meeting, and anything
else important written in it, and even though Chanyeol makes fun of him for having it everyday, because apparently it
makes him an ‘80 year old man’, it still comes in handy. Like for right now, when Chanyeol reminds Baekhyun that he
has a meeting at noon that he’s forgotten about.

Baekhyun decides not to ask Chanyeol why he doesn’t actually quit, choosing to ignore the situation instead of
dragging it out. He mentally pockets the meeting time and turns back towards his computer, letting out a huff of air he’s
been holding in since the phone call. He’s about to respond to the email from HQ that he read earlier, before he was
so rudely interrupted, but he doesn’t get a chance to because there’s a knock on the door. He doesn’t even have the
opportunity to tell Chanyeol to deal with it himself before the door is swung open by the latter and someone walks in.
Baekhyun groans and swivels back around, coming face to face with the secretary from the front desk. Baekhyun isn’t
sure, but he thinks her name is Ashley. He’s more concerned with the fact that he never gets a break .

“Mr. Byun, there’s a man here to see you. His name is Mr. Killian, and he’s from the Immigration and Naturalization
Services.”

“Okay? Why didn’t you just call me, I could have met you down in the meeting center.” Baekhyun doesn’t know why
this man is here to see him, but he stands up nonetheless. He isn’t one to keep someone waiting, even if he is
annoyed by the fact that no one will leave him alone.

“Uh.” the secretary, maybe it’s actually Nicole, stutters out. “He’s actually waiting outside for you. He was very
persistent.”

Oh. So it is Ashley. Nicole’s vocabulary isn’t wide enough to contain such words as persistent . “Alright. Well, Park
Chanyeol, invite him in.” Baekhyun sits back down and watches as Chanyeol rolls his eyes, because he despises
when Baekhyun calls him by his full name, and then opens the office door. There stands a man clad in a
pressed-suite, with a scowl on his face, holding a briefcase and looking every bit official. Baekhyun suddenly feels
uncomfortable in his business slacks and white button-up shirt, and stands back up to shake the man’s hand.

“Hello, Mr. Killian. Sorry for keeping you waiting.” Baekhyun isn’t sure if he kept the man waiting at all, but it feels like
the appropriate thing to say so he says it anyway. Mr. Killian just shakes his hand and nods his head once in reply.
Then he stands there, as if expecting something, so Baekhyun glances at Ashley and Chanyeol for help. Ashley,
breaking from her deer-in-the-headlights trance, scurries towards the door and shuts it quickly behind her after she’s
left. Chanyeol simply shrugs. Baekhyun hates him.

“Mr. Byun, I’m here to discuss your visa terms with you.” Mr. Killian sets his briefcase down on Baekhyun’s desk. He
opens it and reveals a huge stack of papers, but Baekhyun’s eyes catch on the top one. It reads ‘Deportation Terms’,
with a small ‘Byun Baekhyun’ written underneath it. He gulps.

“Last week you violated your visa terms by traveling out of country, specifically to Canada, to recruit a business
personnel. Did you not?”

Baekhyun gulps. He indeed did.

“Um, yes, however-”

“You knew of the terms, Mr. Byun.” Mr. Killian cuts in. Baekhyun just nods. He doesn’t miss the way Chanyeol snickers
in the corner though, so he throws him a glare.

“Unfortunately, because of this incident, we have to deport you. You’ll be expected to leave the country by Monday.”

The snickering stops. Baekhyun swears he can hear Chanyeol breathing 10 feet away, it’s that quiet. Mr. Killian just
stares at him, a bored expression on his face as if kicking someone out of America means nothing to him.

“Now wait a minute, Mr. Killian. Isn’t there something-”

“Have you invested $500,000 into a company recently that we’re not aware of, Mr. Byun?” “Well, no-”

“Have you been living in the country since 1972?”

“I wasn’t even born-”

“Are you a refugee? No, of course not, you’ve come from South Korea.” Mr. Killian doesn’t even give Baekhyun a
chance to answer that one. Baekhyun glares at the man.

“And is it correct to assume that you’re not here for a religious reason?”

“No, I’m not, but-”

“No, you cannot claim a religious reason right now, Mr. Byun.”

Baekhyun close his mouth. He’s not even sure what he would’ve said, anyways.

“The only other way you’d be able to keep your visa is if you were recently married or engaged.” Baekhyun stills.
Brilliant . He hasn’t been on a date in three and a half years, but that won’t stop him. If faking an engagement is his
last resort, because the man in front of him looks like he makes no exceptions, then so be it. He will not go back to
Korea.

“Actually, Mr. Killian, I am recently engaged. I’m so glad you mentioned that, I never would have thought to tell you!”
Baekhyun tries to sound enthused, happy even, but he can see that it goes in one ear and out the other. Mr. Killian’s
expression doesn’t even change.

“Congratulations then, Mr. Byun. Who’s the lucky lady?”

Baekhyun stills again. Fuck . He can’t just make up someone, because they’ll ask for proof and then he’ll most
definitely be deported for eternity for lying and that cannot happen . He racks his brain for anyone, someone, but he
comes up blank. It’s actually quite pathetic. Baekhyun wants a black hole to swallow him, or something. Anything. It
feels like an hour has passed before anyone says anything.

And then he looks up, and is met with Chanyeol’s curious glance. And it suddenly clicks . He’s the only person
Baekhyun knows remotely anything about in New York, besides his 40-50 year old bosses, so why not? And
Baekhyun knows the moment that it clicks with Chanyeol, too, because the younger pales and quickly shakes his
head. Baekhyun smirks at him, though, and turns back to Mr. Killian. Too bad, Park Chanyeol , Baekhyun thinks. Too
bad .

“Lucky man, actually. Mr. Killian, meet my fiance Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gestures towards Chanyeol, who’s glaring
at him with an expression that Baekhyun didn’t think the younger man could harbor. If looks could kill, Baekhyun would
be 6 feet under like, last week. He simply smiles back. Baekhyun is just glad that Chanyeol’s decided to dress
exceptionally homeless today, because he doesn’t look like he belongs in an office at all. He can easily pass as a
visiting fiance who’s just simply brought his loved one coffee after a rough morning. It’s perfect .

“My apologies for assuming, Mr. Byun.” Mr. Killian turns to look at Chanyeol, and you can tell he doesn’t believe a
single word Baekhyun is saying but it’s not like he can tell him he isn’t engaged to Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s smile only
grows. He’s genius, honestly.

“It’s only recently, so we haven’t told many people. Right, Yeol?” Baekhyun nearly throws up when he chokes out the
word Yeol , but he manages to finish the sentence and smile sweetly at Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s expression doesn’t
change, except for a small eye twitch when Baekhyun calls him the nickname. It’s almost humorous, except now Mr.
Killian is glaring daggers at the both of them so it isn’t. His eyes are damn near murderous.

“Well, in that case, congratulations to you two. When is the wedding?”

“Oh, we haven’t spoken about it much. Like I said, it’s only happened recently.” Baekhyun is thankful for the many
acting classes he took throughout his school years, because without them he’s sure he would have cracked by now.
The simple gaze of Mr. Killian is enough to make a grown man cry. However, he can tell Chanyeol isn’t skilled in the
craft at all because he kind of looks constipated, and honestly, it’s pretty much killing Baekhyun’s vibe.

“Interesting.” Mr. Killian closes his briefcase and picks it up from Baekhyun’s desk. Baekhyun thinks that that’s that, but
the man turns to look directly at Chanyeol and crosses his arms, opening his mouth to address the younger. Baekhyun
holds his breath, willing Chanyeol not to fuck this up.

“Marriage based on immigration status is illegal in the United States. Baekhyun will be deported indefinitely, and you
will face a fine of $250,000 and spend up to 5 years in prison. Do I make myself clear?” Baekhyun watches as
Chanyeol’s jaw quite literally drops to the floor, his eyebrows skyrocketing while he stares at the older man. It takes a
few seconds before he composes himself, and simply nods as a response. Baekhyun kind of wants to throw up, if he’s
being honest. He wasn’t expecting that . “Um, no, that won’t be necessary.” Chanyeol grits out, catching Baekhyun off
guard. He hadn’t expected him to respond with anything, let alone a reaffirmation. “We, uh, we’re actually going to visit
my family this weekend to tell them. About our engagement. Um.”

Mr. Killian just nods. Baekhyun’s eyes widen. The hell he is .

“Enjoy yourselves, then.” Mr. Killian sighs, as if this whole interaction is causing him physical pain. Baekhyun can
relate. “Since this is a rather serious matter, I’m going to have to have the both of you come to my office when you get
back for a brief meeting concerning your relationship. I’ll be asking you questions regarding the other, and if your
answers do not match up, what I’ve already mentioned will take affect. Does Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. sound alright?”

Baekhyun can only nod his head in response, Chanyeol soon following in suit. He can’t exactly read the youngers
expression, but he supposes he’s terrified. Baekhyun is, that’s for sure.

“That takes care of it, then.” Mr. Killian doesn’t offer a goodbye or anything of that sort as he leaves the office,
briefcase tucked close while he scowls at the ground. Baekhyun and Chanyeol both just watch in silence. Baekhyun
isn’t really sure what to say, anyways. He’s not entirely sure that he’s awake even. Everything feels like a nightmare in
his mind. Luckily, though, Chanyeol’s voice draws him back in and reminds him that everything that’s just happened is
very much not a nightmare and is in fact quite serious. Baekhyun groans.

“Are you hearing me? Byun Baekhyun, what in the fuck was that? You’re getting deported?” “No, I’m not, because
we’re engaged.” Baekhyun offers weakly, falling back into his swivel chair with a huff. He lays his head down on his
desk, making sure to bang it because it’s what he deserves, and then throws his arms over his head.

“Why did you say me? Why me? We’re not even friends, what the fuck ?” Chanyeol is mostly talking to himself,
because he does that sometimes, Baekhyun’s noticed, but Baekhyun rolls his eyes and replies anyways.

“I don’t know, I looked up and you were there and I couldn’t think of anyone else. What else was I supposed to say?”

“Maybe ‘I’m sorry I violated my terms, I’ll be out of here by Monday’?”

Baekhyun lifts his head and glares at Chanyeol, who’s just pacing around the office and running his hands through his
hair. He waits for the man to calm down, to stop pacing, and then sits up to address him. Chanyeol glares right back at
him.

“I’m not going back to Korea.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Because.” Baekhyun says it with a finality to his voice, because there is no way he’s discussing that with Chanyeol, of
all people. Chanyeol just huffs and plops himself down in one of the arm chairs in front of Baekhyun’s desk, running a
hand down his face. He looks like he hasn’t slept in at least 20 years, and really, Baekhyun doesn't think it’s that bad.

“I’m not marrying you.”

“Oh, fuck no.” Baekhyun grits out, because that isn’t the point. “We just need to, you know, act engaged until I can
figure something else out. Go to the stupid meeting on Tuesday, answer some questions, and then in another month
or two ‘call off’ the engagement when I’ve got another plan in place. It’s simple, really.”

“Oh yeah, so simple. Restrict me from dating until this shit show is done basically, not to mention they’re probably
going to ask weird ass questions at the meeting like what brand of toilet paper you prefer the most or something.”

“Charmin.”

“Charmin?”

There’s a pause. Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“That’s what brand I like the most.”

Chanyeol stares at Baekhyun with an expression that suggests he thinks he’s the most idiotic person he’s ever met.
Baekhyun only shrugs. Charmin is a good brand, but that’s not the point. “I’m not doing this.”

“Please!” Baekhyun pleads. “I need to stay here. I have to. Please.”

“No way, this is crazy. I’m not trying to go to prison .”

“I will literally do anything for you.”

“No, Baekhyun.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“No.”

Baekhyun sighs. As he thinks about it, he realizes how much of a big deal the whole thing actually is, but that doesn’t
make him want to back down. Korea...is not the place for him to be. Ever. Never again. He does understand where
Chanyeol is coming from, but the pros definitely outrank the cons. There isn’t a comparison. Baekhyun’s life, pretty
much, is on the line here, so there’s no way he’s going down without a fight. The decision of announcing a fake
engagement may have been stupid and rash, and completely out of line, but to hell with it. Baekhyun’s ass is staying
in America .

“I’ll promote you. And...and I’ll let you produce that song you’ve been working on. The one you sing when you walk
around all the time.”

Chanyeol looks up at Baekhyun, his jaw slack. A few seconds pass before he finds his words and replies. “You notice
that?”

“Of course I notice it. You sing it all the time and make notes on your hand when you’ve figured something new out.”
Baekhyun pauses, and takes a deep breath. He’s really laying it on thick now. “And you’re not half bad. At singing, that
is.”

Chanyeol’s jaw drops even further, as if that’s possible, and his ears redden. Baekhyun doesn’t understand why they
stick out so much. They make him look like Yoda, seriously, and- “Fine.”

“Wait, what?” Baekhyun leans forward in his chair, bracing his hands on his desk. Did Chanyeol just- “I’ll do it. I’ll fake
date you, or whatever. But the minute you’ve got another plan, we’re calling it off.” “Yes, of course. Thank God .”
Baekhyun isn’t a hugging kind of guy, but he has the sudden urge to jump

across his desk and tackle Chanyeol into a bone crushing hug. He doesn’t though, but that’s mainly because
Chanyeol cuts him off by holding a finger up.

“On one condition though.”

“What? Chanyeol, I’m already promot-”

“We’re going to my grandmother’s party this weekend.”

“Okay, you can go, I’m more than willing to let you go since you’re-”

“No. You’re coming with me. I’m not going to lie to my family about this. We’re telling them too.” “No offense, but your
family hates me and I don’t really trust them with keeping this a secret.” “Oh no. We’re telling them we’re engaged.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. You don’t want to lie to them, yet you’re lying to them. I swear, sometimes you’re so
stupid-”

“I will go chase that man down and confess to him right now, don’t think I won’t Byun Baekhyun. If I’m going to pretend
to freaking be engaged to you, my family is at least going to be under the impression that it’s real. I tell them
everything. I don’t want to have to lie to the state while trying to hide something from my parents, especially if the state
decides to call our families and ask them questions.” Chanyeol pauses, takes a deep breath, and then continues on.
“Plus, I told Mr. Killian we’re going this weekend. He’s probably already sent someone to my home town to spy on us.”

Baekhyun doesn’t understand Chanyeol’s reasoning at all, not one bit, he thinks he’s quite dumb actually, but he’s
desperate so he agrees. It might be nice to get away from the office for a couple of days anyways. Chanyeol’s kind of
a... free spirit , so Baekhyun wouldn’t be surprised if he grew up in a coastal town or somewhere interesting like
Colorado. Besides, he can always claim not feeling well and hang out on the beach by himself the entire time if worse
comes to worst.

“Fine. Whatever. You’re lucky I’m desperate.”

Chanyeol grins, his smile reaching from ear to ear. “We’re going to have the time of our lives, Debby Downer. Alaska
here we come!”

Baekhyun doesn’t get the chance to reply before Chanyeol struts out of his office cackling, going to do whatever it is
Chanyeols do. Instead, he just gapes at the door that’s been left open and ponders why he doesn’t just off himself
right here, right now.

Alaska , he thinks, groaning, fuck me .

Chapter 2 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21022922) : Chapter
2
Notes: (See the end of the chapter for notes (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756#chapter_2_endnotes) .)

“Do you have a diet Sprite instead of a regular one? I’m not feeling champagne, but the regular Sprite’s carbonation
levels don’t always agree with me.”

The flight attendant stares down at Baekhyun, her eyebrows pinched slightly together at the middle of her face. It
takes a few minutes before she nods, slowly, and then turns to Chanyeol. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “And for you, sir?”

“Um, no champagne. A coke works though. Thanks.” Chanyeol recites out, his voice calm with almost a warm tone to
it. Baekhyun envies him. He’s always a least a little restless on plane rides. “I’ll be back in a few.” The flight attendant
smiles, mostly at Chanyeol, and then continues down the aisle. Baekhyun watches as she saunters away.

“You know,” Chanyeol begins, breaking Baekhyun out of his trance. He’d been glaring at the back of the flight
attendant’s head, honestly. He can just feel the judgement rolling off of her. “-you’re kind of high maintenance.”

Baekhyun turns and scowls at the younger man.

“I mean, diet Sprite, really ?” Chanyeol chuckles and shifts in his seat. “It’s already decaffeinated.” Baekhyun ignores
him, choosing instead to glance out the window. They’ve been on the plane for five hours now, with only one more to
go, and Chanyeol’s used the bathroom at least 10 times. That’s why, on the last time, Baekhyun switched seats with
him while he was in the restroom, and then refused to get up when the younger came back. Baekhyun has been able
to stomach his various diet beverages throughout the trip. Chanyeol has acted like a little kid in a movie theatre.

“Oh, hey, since we only have about an hour left, I thought I could break out the book.” “The what?” Baekhyun turns
back to Chanyeol, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. He watches as Chanyeol leans forward and pulls out a stack
of papers from his book bag. They’re clipped together with an office clip, and the front page reads ‘INS Questions’.

“I found a bunch of questions online that people, ah, in our situation have been asked, so I typed them all up and
made a book out of them. I thought we could, I don’t know, study them.” Baekhyun’s eyebrow only climbs higher.

“I mean, I know most of the answers for you, but you don’t really know anything about me.” “I know stuff about you.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes, and takes the ‘book’ away from Chanyeol. “Your name is Park Chanyeol. You’re 24, your
birthday is November 27th, I remember because the office threw a surprise party for you.”

“Yeah, they did. You didn’t get one because they’re all afraid of you.”

Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol, and then goes back to the book. He flips to a random page and reads through the
questions, rolling his eyes at the absurdness of them.

“These are all weird, and there’s no way you know all of this about me.”

“I know most of it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. What am I allergic to, then?”

Chanyeol smiles. Baekhyun sighs.

“Hidden Valley brand ranch. You break out into hives when you eat it. Also any human emotion besides anger and
annoyance.”

“Very funny.” Baekhyun fake laughs, and then flips to another page in the book. His eyes catch on one question, and
he smirks.

“Where am I originally from?” He doesn’t talk about his life before America like, ever, so he’d be surprised if Chanyeol
knew this one. Chanyeol just rolls his eyes, though, and gives Baekhyun a look . “You’re from Bucheon, South Korea.
Anyone with a computer can Google your name and find that out. The first search result is ‘Critically Acclaimed Music
Producer Byun Baekhyun from Bucheon, South Korea.’ It’s an article, I figured you would have read it considering
you’re obsessed with yourself.” “Aw, you read about me?” Baekhyun chooses to ignore Chanyeol’s subtle insult. “How
thoughtful, sweetheart .”

Unfortunately, the flight attendant chooses then to return with their drinks, catching the tail end of their conversation.
She smiles at the both of them, but mostly focuses on Baekhyun, so Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at her because it’s
the same girl who had previously been judging him to Hell and back.

“Now I know why you keep glaring at me.” She laughs a little, and Baekhyun screws his face up. What? “I didn’t meant
to flirt with your boyfriend, or whatever. You guys are honestly so cute together.” She sets their drinks down on each of
their tables, and then quite literally scurries off to the back. Baekhyun’s

jaw drops. Chanyeol cackles beside him. The woman sitting across from them quietly laughs, hiding behind her hand.

“Your face was priceless.”

“Please shut up.”

“I wish I would have taken a picture.” Chanyeol sobers himself up while Baekhyun continues to glare at him, his face
tinted a bright pink that he can’t seem to make go away. It’s embarrassing, he’s embarrassed , and no one on this
damn plane is making anything better.

“Can we just, you know, go back to the questions.” Baekhyun mumbles, thrusting the book at Chanyeol. Chanyeol
chuckles again but takes the book, flipping it to a random page and scanning the print. Baekhyun sighs and leans his
head back against his head rest.

“When did you know you were in love with me?”

“I swear to God-”

“Kidding, kidding!” Chanyeol laughs and dodges Baekhyun’s swat, turning his body so he’s facing more towards the
aisle but can still address Baekhyun. “What’s my favorite superhero?” “How am I supposed to know that ?” Baekhyun
scoffs. Allergies and places of birth are valid questions. Favorite fictional characters are not.

“According to someone , this is a valid question.” Chanyeol says, as if reading Baekhyun’s mind. Baekhyun sighs.

“We don’t talk about superheros.”

“Well we need to act like we do. It’s Iron Man, by the way. Note it down.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but pockets it anyways. Mr. Killian seemed serious about the matching answers. “How about
my coffee order? What do I get on a regular basis?”

“A Venti Soy Quadruple Shot Latte with No Foam.” Baekhyun recites it by heart because it’s his order. He watches as
Chanyeol pales. It’s amusing.

“Ah, I-”

“You order two from Starbucks every morning in case you drop mine. I know you don’t like it though, because I watch
you choke it down while holding your nose when you think I’m not looking. You actually like that peppermint flavored
shit. Your Secret Santa got you two bags of it last year.”

Chanyeol’s jaw drops. His eyebrows skyrocket as he closes the booklet, turning back so that he’s facing the front.
Baekhyun smirks.

“Told you I knew stuff about you.”

“I don’t get two of the same thing. And even if I did, I like all kinds of coffee.”

“Yes you do. And no, sorry, you don’t. If there’s ever a big meeting, and other people are getting coffee, you always get
hot chocolate.”

Baekhyun doesn’t understand why he’s memorized all of these things, but Chanyeol’s been working for him for going
on three years, so he’s picked up on things. He’s always kept it to himself, though, saving the confession for a time
when he needs to embarrass Chanyeol. Like right now. The younger’s facial expressions make it all worth it.

“Yeah okay, whatever.” Chanyeol shoves the booklet back into his book bag, and sits back into his seat with a huff. “I
don’t want to answer questions anymore.”

“You’re just embarrassed, it’s fine.” Baekhyun laughs and sits back in his own seat. It’s coach, so it’s not
uncomfortable, but five and half hours of sitting anywhere is never all that fun.

A few minutes of silence pass by as Chanyeol and Baekhyun sit in their own worlds. Baekhyun people watches, while
Chanyeol fidgets beside him. He ignores him for the most part though, before finally turning towards his window to
peer out of it. He notices the clouds darkening while they roll by, but he doesn’t think much of it, until the captain's
voice comes on overhead and warns them of a bumpy landing.

“The ‘buckle your seatbelts’ sign will appear above head momentarily, everyone please prepare for a bumpy landing.
We’re approaching some nasty weather.”

Baekhyun sighs and fastens his seatbelt, not waiting for the sign to appear near the front. He mentally groans as he
peers back out the window. He’s used to flying, does it all the time for his job, but he doesn’t exactly like it. Bad
weather doesn’t make things any easier either. At least he’s not clutching on to the back of the seat in front of him,
though, like the lady up front is. How embarrassing .

“We’re approaching the Juneau airport.” the captain says over the intercom, right as the seatbelt sign comes on.
Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol buckles his own seatbelt, and then glances over at Baekhyun as if to make sure his is
fastened as well. Baekhyun, however, realizes that they’re not going to where Chanyeol had told him he lived, and
stills, remembering their conversation from before.

“So the plane is going to take us right into Sitka, where my family lives.”

“ Sitka ? What the hell is Sitka?”

“It’s a small port town south of Juneau.”

“So not only are you dragging me to Alaska, but now you’re dragging me to some remote city I’ve never even heard
of?”

“Hey, Sitka was named one of the prettiest cities in Southern Alaska.”

“Good for Sitka. I was hoping that we were at least going to Anchorage, or something.” “I mean, if you want, we can
turn back around and head to INS. I’d be happy to tell Mr. Killian that I’m being blackmailed into a fake marriage.”

“Keep fucking driving.”

“Why the hell are we going to Juneau? You said we were going to Sitka!” Baekhyun whisper-yells at Chanyeol, pulling
the younger down towards him. Chanyeol scowls at him and pulls back, fixing his ruffled shirt.

“We are going to Sitka. We have to stop in Juneau first, though.”

“Why?” Baekhyun doesn’t understand. Chanyeol just rolls his eyes.

“Sitka doesn’t have a large airport. We have to take a smaller plane in.”

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol, his mind working at about 200 mph. Smaller plane .

“There was no coach option for that.”

“Right. It’s just a normal plane.” Chanyeol pauses, and then smirks. “Sorry, you’ll have to sit with the common-man.

“I’m in slacks though. My shoes were just recently polished.”

“They’ll probably get stepped on at least twice. I told you not to dress like a fucking tycoon.” Baekhyun huffs, and then
grabs at the handlebar attached to the seat in front of him. The plane is descending, and it’s rough, but it’s not as bad
as Baekhyun had expected. Chanyeol looks like it hardly affects him, he just sits there smugly as he packs his
headphones and carry-on pillow into his book bag. It’s a satchel, and it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the
rest of the briefcases littered on the floor of the plane. At least he’ll be with his people when they travel to Sitka ,
Baekhyun thinks.

The rest of the ride down to the runway isn’t that bad, and as soon as they land and are cleared to exit the plane,
Baekhyun shoots up, grabs his carry-on, and darts towards the exit bridge. He walks through it, and then waits
patiently for Chanyeol to catch up before he starts making his way to the next terminal. He’s stopped though, by
Chanyeol, who directs him to a door instead. That leads outside. To the runway . Baekhyun gapes at him.

“Oh, no, there’s no bridge to get on the plane. We have to get on it outside.”

“It’s raining .” Baekhyun points out, as if the huge drops hitting the glass window in front of them wasn’t obvious
enough. Chanyeol rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, and it’s supposed to rain even harder later on. We need to get going, the plane leaves in 10 minutes.”

“Te- what ?!”

“Come on .” Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun’s arm and pulls him towards the door, throwing it open and leading him
towards a stand in, literally, the middle of the runway. They’re greeted by a young man, who’s clad in a large yellow
raincoat and is holding a tablet and a walky-talky.

“Hi, Park Chanyeol and Byun Baekhyun.” Chanyeol announces, shouting over the rain. Baekhyun has to squint to see,
and he’s soaking, and his hair is sticking to his forehead. He wants to kill Park Chanyeol. Fuck going back to Korea.
He’s spending the rest of his life in prison due to a homicide case.

“You guys are good to go! Sorry about the weather!” the man shouts back, waving them on their way. Chanyeol just
nods once at him, and then drags Baekhyun over to the plane. They’re ushered up the steps by another man in a
yellow raincoat, and then find themselves at the front of a very tiny, very cramped plane. Baekhyun shudders at the
sight. The seats are two to a section, with no middle row, and there are children . And a dog that’s not in a cage or
hooked up to any kind of leash.

Baekhyun turns to Chanyeol, his eyes pleading.

“Take me back right now. Let them ship me out of the country, I don’t care anymore.” “Pick a seat and sit down, drama
queen.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes and walks down the aisle, pointing towards the only two seats left that are next to
each other. He doesn’t give Baekhyun a choice, but instead sits down, and then pats the seat next to him. Baekhyun
glares at him, but follows because they’re closing the emergency door behind him. He sits down in his seat, the aisle
seat , and quickly buckles his seatbelt. He’s not taking it off for the entire ride. They’re sitting in a piece of scrap metal,
practically. They’ll be lucky to make it out alive.

“Welcome aboard Sitka Skyway!” a voice suddenly booms over the intercom, startling Baekhyun. “Buckle your
seatbelts please, it’s going to be a bumpy 40 minutes! We’ll be taking off within the next 10 minutes or so!”

Baekhyun takes a deep breath and clutches his bag to his chest. He doesn’t pray, ever really, but he sends up a silent
message to whoever’s listening to keep him safe. He tacks on a Chanyeol too , mostly because without him, the whole
trip is pointless.

They take off soon enough, and take off is never Baekhyun’s favorite part, but this time it’s even more brutal. The
plane sways and rocks and jerks and Baekhyun doesn’t release his hold on his bag throughout the whole ride. The
child behind him cries the entire time, and Chanyeol tries to get him to relax and answer

a few more question from the damn book, but one look from Baekhyun and he’s quiet for the rest of the ride.
Baekhyun never eases up, he’s sure he’s going to need to see a chiropractor when he gets back to New York because
his back is as stiff as a board, and his knees don’t stop bouncing until they’ve landed. Which is a trip in itself, because
if Baekhyun ever has to descend into Hell, he’s sure it’ll feel like the trip down to the runway in Sitka. The plane pretty
much flips on the way down, Baekhyun swears he’s upside down for half the trip, and when it finally hits the ground,
he jerks forward so hard that his head hits the headrest in front of him. Chanyeol laughs at him, and Baekhyun
normally would glare at him and make some kind of off-hand comment, but he’s still terrified and in shock from the ride
over from fucking Juneau .

He’s positive he doesn’t need a psychiatrist to diagnose him with PTSD, he can self-diagnose himself. He’ll never get
on another plane again.

“Usually the ride over isn’t that bad.” Chanyeol offers, once the captain announces that they’re cleared to start
unloading. Baekhyun just nods, his face blank while he stands up. His knees are wobbly, and he’s still damp from the
rain, and he smells like must. He doesn’t give a damn how other rides over are.

Once he can actually stand without having to support himself by using the seat in front of him, Baekhyun takes a few
steps forward, following the man in front of him towards the exit. This time Chanyeol is right behind him, and in most
cases Baekhyun would be annoyed and shove the younger, but the hand Chanyeol keeps steady on Baekhyun’s waist
is comforting. He lets go when they start to descend the steps, though, but Baekhyun hardly notices. He’s more
concerned with the fact that it’s fucking sunny and no longer raining .

Of course , he thinks. Because fuck Byun Baekhyun, right?

“I think my mo- Oh, fuck.”

Baekhyun turns his head to face Chanyeol as soon as his feet hit the land, startled by the man’s sudden outburst. His
face is pale, and his eyes are as wide as Baekhyun has ever seen them. He’s actually kind of worried about him, if
he’s being honest.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, no, no…” Chanyeol mumbles, taking a sharp right, grabbing Baekhyun’s arm in the process. Baekhyun stumbles
after him until they come up to the luggage claim, which is actually just a hotel cart they’re rolling around to all of the
former passengers. Chanyeol doesn’t miss a beat as he picks both his and Baekhyun’s (four) bags up, and then
quickly steers Baekhyun towards the exit of the runway.

“Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Baekhyun asks, his face screwing up in confusion. Chanyeol is still
gripping his arm, not tightly but Baekhyun bruises like a peach so he’s annoyed. He jerks his arm away and stops
walking, crossing his arms and glaring at Chanyeol.

“Please, let’s just keep walking, I don’t think they’ve noticed us, come on.” Chanyeol begs, glancing panickedly
around. Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“Who?”

Chanyeol is about to respond, his mouth is open and everything, but then Baekhyun hears it .
“CHANYEOOOOLLLLL!”

Baekhyun’s head snaps towards the runway exit, where a group of guys are standing. Some of them are holding signs
up that read “CHANNY”, others have ones that say “WE LOVE + MISSED YOU”. They’re all smiling and screaming
and laughing and Baekhyun is terrified. He turns back to Chanyeol, who’s face is beat red and sweaty.

“What the hell.” Baekhyun doesn’t even phrase it as question, just blurts it. Chanyeol flinches. “Those are...my
friends.” he replies, shrugging slightly. “I thought my mom was going to pick us up, but, well...she must have spilt that I
was coming home.”

“Yes, clearly.” Baekhyun says, sarcastically. He takes a deep breath and uncrosses his arms. “They’re not that bad.”
Chanyeol tries to reason, but Baekhyun disagrees. There’s one, who’s relatively shorter than the others and who has
black hair, that’s jumping up and down, screaming, and waving his sign quite violently. Baekhyun doesn’t understand
why he isn’t embarrassed of himself. “Come on, let’s just get this over with.” Chanyeol finally says, sighing. He grabs
Baekhyun’s hand, his hand , and starts tugging, but Baekhyun doesn’t move. He stares down at their tangled fingers
and scowls. “Seriously, oh my God , you’re the one who came up with this whole ‘engaged’ thing, I swear if you-”
Chanyeol begins, but Baekhyun cuts him off.

“I’m not holding your hand.” he pauses, and then jerks on one of the bags Chanyeol is holding. “And give me my bags.
I don’t want them to think I’m incompetent.”

“Fine, asshat.” Chanyeol dumps all four of Baekhyun’s bags onto the ground. “And you are incompetent, by the way.
Unless it comes to sitting at your desk and brooding.”

“Fuck you, buddy.” Baekhyun picks up his bags, slugging one over each shoulder and holding the rest, and then trails
after Chanyeol, who only has his satchel-looking-thing and a small suitcase. He struggles, it’s obvious, but he refuses
to give up.

They eventually make it over to the Chanyeol Fan Club, much to the group's delight, after practically sprinting across
the runway. Well, at least it was sprinting for Baekhyun. Chanyeol has extremely long legs,

and Baekhyun can never keep up with him. And the asshole didn’t even think to slow down. So now Baekhyun is
sweating, and the Fan Club is staring at him, and Chanyeol is brooding because of their previous ‘fight’. Baekhyun
wants to go home.

Chanyeol is about to say something, maybe introduce Baekhyun because that’s what a decent human being would do,
but instead he’s cut off by the entire group screaming and crushing him into a hug. Seriously, all of them move at once,
it’s kind of creepy. All Baekhyun can do is stand there and stare, occasionally glancing at the people walking by that
throw judgement looks the group's way. It lasts at least five minutes, but finally the group disbands, and Chanyeol
comes up smiling. Baekhyun loathes him most of the time, but he can’t help but bite back a smile at how happy he
looks. His fucking Yoda-ears are glowing.

“I missed you guys.” Chanyeol manages to choke out, his voice watery and his eyes wide. One of the guys, he’s pretty
tall and has grayish looking hair, pulls him into a side hug. Chanyeol grins at him. “We missed you too.” another one
says. He has blonde hair and is fairly tall as well. Baekhyun feels like a Goddamn shrimp standing next to all of them.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” Chanyeol gestures towards Baekhyun, shrugging out of the one tall guy’s grasp to come and
stand next to him. Baekhyun nearly rolls his eyes. “This is Baekhyun.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Joonmyeon.” one of the guys says, holding out his hand for Baekhyun to shake. Baekhyun
takes it, smiling at the guy. He seems nice enough.

“You’re the Devil Boss, right?” someone blurts out, catching them all off guard. Baekhyun turns his head in the
direction of the voice and comes face to face with the tall blonde from before. “I’m Sehun.” “Uh.” Baekhyun mutters
out, at a loss for words. Devil Boss?

“Oh my God, no, I never said that.” Chanyeol stutters, glaring at the Sehun-guy.

“Yes you did. I distinctly remember-”

“No, you must be thinking of someone else.” Chanyeol chuckles nervously. “Um, anyways. We’re kind of wet, from the
rain, so maybe we should head out?”

A couple of the Fan Club members, Baekhyun will never call them anything differently, nod, and then the group
collects their things and begins walking towards the exit of the airport. Baekhyun doesn’t miss the way Chanyeol lets
out a huff of air, and he kind of wants to laugh, but then he remembers Devil Boss and schools his face back up into a
scowl. He grabs his bags off of the ground and sighs, following after the crowd as they walk towards the parking lot.
It’s a hike, but they walk slower than Chanyeol does, so he keeps up. He keeps a steady pace on the right side of
Chanyeol, careful not to drag any of his bags because they’re designer and have already been damaged by the water.

The Fan Club has settled down, tremendously, but they’re still quite loud and even a little obnoxious as they walk
down the sidewalk. Chanyeol seems immune to it, however, because all of his attention is focused on the short man
walking on his left. The guy kind of reminds Baekhyun of a penguin, if he’s honest. He glares at him. The guy doesn’t
notice, but Baekhyun feels the satisfaction as they near the parking lot anyways.

When they finally do make it, Baekhyun is disappointed to find that the lot is filled with only a couple of cars, and one
beat up truck. And of course, the group heads towards the truck. It’s old, like, at least 30 years old, and an awful shade
of orange. Baekhyun pities the man that owns it.

“Your chariot awaits!” someone yells, and gestures towards the eyesore. Baekhyun expects him to climb up into the
driver's seat, but he flings himself into the middle of the front bench instead. A shorter man, who Baekhyun hadn’t
noticed before, climbs into the shotgun seat, and then the Joonmyeon guy gets into the driver’s spot. Baekhyun sighs.
He had liked Joonmyeon .

“Chan, Baekhyun, you guys are in the back. Sorry.” The guy that says this is tall, taller than the rest of them except
Chanyeol, and has shorter black hair. He kind of looks like a dick, but then again, he doesn’t. Baekhyun doesn’t know
how to feel about him.

Baekhyun goes along with it though, and moves towards the back seat doors, however he stops when the tall guy,
another guy with grayish hair but not the one from before, and the should-be-embarrassed guy all climb into the back
bench.

Oh. The back , back. Baekhyun cringes.

“He meant the truck bed.” someone says from behind Baekhyun, confirming his thoughts. Baekhyun turns and finds
someone, only a little taller than himself, smiling down at him. He’s got blonde hair, kind of, it’s a nice color. Baekhyun
decides he likes him.

“This is kind of the ‘mom van’ for us. Everyone has an assigned spot. Come on, I’ll help you load everything up.” the
guy pauses, and then his smile widens. “I’m Luhan, by the way.” He then grabs two of Baekhyun’s bags and lugs them
to the truck bed, before lobbing them over the ledge and then climbing in himself. Baekhyun just stares. The kid looks
like he’s barely over the age of 18, but Baekhyun is kind of in love. No one else has been nice to him, beside
Joonmyeon, but he owns the Truck From Hell, so he doesn’t count.

Baekhyun snaps out of it, though, and follows Luhan’s lead, throwing his other two bags in and then attempting to
climb into the truck bed. He is, however, short, and nearly falls. Scowling, he tries again, but

fails.

“Chanyeol! Jailbait needs help.” someone shouts, and when Baekhyun turns, he isn’t surprised to find that it had been
Sehun who had yelled at Chanyeol. He is surprised to see Luhan literally sitting in his lap , slapping the latter lightly on
his shoulder. Baekhyun takes it all back. He doesn’t like anyone.

“He’s older than you, Sehun.” Chanyeol replies, but he’s laughing. He leaves the penguin’s side, at this point it’s more
convincible that he’s engaged to him and not Baekhyun, and walks over to Baekhyun’s side. And then he literally picks
Baekhyun up by the armpits and dumps him into the truck bed , climbing in after like he hadn’t just man handled his
boss. Baekhyun is horrified. Everyone is laughing.

“Older? No way. No offense, but you look like you’re 16.” Sehun rambles out. Baekhyun, sitting himself into an upright
position, glances at the man. He doesn’t understand when or why this became the ‘Offend Byun Baekhyun’ session.

“I’m 24.” he eventually says, scooching backwards so that he’s leaning against the railing. His luggage is pushed up
against the back of truck, secured by tall-gray-haired-one-who-hugged-Chanyeol from before, because he’s sitting
against it. Whatever. As long as it doesn’t fly out , Baekhyun reasons.

“Wow, never would have guessed.” Sehun replies, and this time, Luhan hits him harder, He laughs though, too, and
Baekhyun is just going to assume it’s because of the way Sehun scrunches up his nose, and not because Baekhyun
looks like a five year old. He knows, thank you .

“I thought he was 18 when I first met him, but he was 21.” Chanyeol adds in. He plops himself down next to Baekhyun,
closer than necessary really, and throws his arm up on the ledge of the truck, encasing the older. Baekhyun glares at
him out of the corner of his eye.

“Wouldn’t doubt it.” Sehun says, and then gestures between the two of them. It’s kind of awkward thought, because
Luhan is basically taking up his entire lap, but Baekhyun gets the gist of it. “So, how did this happen. Last I heard,
Chanyeol hated you.” He directs the question at Baekhyun, his eyes pretty much piercing through him. Baekhyun
gulps.

“Um.”

“We had to keep it a secret in the office, because he’s my boss and everything, and I kind of got carried away. Made it
seem like I hated him when I really didn’t, obviously.”

Baekhyun is questioning his previous thoughts on Chanyeol’s acting skills, but Sehun just stares at him. He kind of
reminds him of Mr. Killian. It’s unsettling.

“Ah. I see.”

Baekhyun wants to say something, add his two cents in, but the truck starts moving suddenly and he’s jerked forward.
He knocks into someone, and it’s only then that he realizes penguin-man is in front of him. He’s about to apologize,
but the guy glares at him so intensely that he’s rendered speechless. It’s actually kind of terrifying. Nevermind a
fucking penguin, this guy is the actual reincarnation of Satan. Baekhyun’s almost 100% sure he’d be considered a
saint when compared to this dude.
“Babe.” a voice calls, breaking Baekhyun of his analization. He turns to see gray-haired man, his legs outstretched
while he taps in between them. Satan-himself glares one last time at Baekhyun, and then crawls over to gray-haired
man, sitting in between his legs. Gray-haired man wraps his arms around the latter, and rests his chin on his shoulder.
Baekhyun isn’t sure how someone could like that , but to each their own.

“Ah, Baek,” don’t fucking call me that , “-I didn’t introduce you to everyone else. This is Luhan, Jongin, and Kyungsoo.”
Chanyeol points to each of his friends, and Baekhyun can finally put a name to the faces. Luhan is Luhan, of course,
he already knows him, but Jongin is the gray-haired man, and Kyungsoo is the penguin. Or Satan. Whatever fits.

“The one driving is Joonmyeon, you know that, the one next to him is Yixing, and the one next to him is Minseok. In
the back is Kris, and then Tao, and then Chen. Sometimes we call him Jongdae though, but that’s rare.”

Baekhyun takes it all in, nodding as Chanyeol talks. He’s never going to remember all of them, but it’s nice to finally
have names.

They drive for about 10 minutes along what Baekhyun assumes is the main road of the entire city, because there are
shops and buildings at every turn. What he finds interesting, though, is that literally every shop is named ‘Park _’, or
has incorporated ‘Park’ in the title somehow. Baekhyun knows this is Chanyeol’s surname, he calls him by it almost
daily just to piss him off, so he’s intrigued. Ever the curious, he turns towards Chanyeol, hitting the younger’s shoulder
to get his attention.

“You never told me your family owned the entire damn city.” he mumbles, meant only for Chanyeol to hear. Of course
Sehun hears it, though, and offers his own comment.

“Our Park Chanyeol is modest, that’s for sure. His family practically built this city.” “Yeah, well…” Chanyeol mumbles.
He removes his arm from around Baekhyun and places his hands in his lap, messing with his fingers. “It’s not a big
deal.”

“Not a big deal.” Luhan scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You should see his house.”

“My parents house.” Chanyeol mumbles. Baekhyun scowls at him. He’s being weird.

The rest of the ride is pretty silent though, with only a few comments here and there from the others that aren’t
directed towards him. Baekhyun spends his time peering out over the ledge, because if he’s being honest, Sitka isn’t
hideous. It would make for a nice postcard picture. He’s expecting them to pull up to some mansion with the
mountains in the horizon when the car finally does slow down and pull to a stop, but instead they just arrive at a dock.
Baekhyun doesn’t move when the rest of them stand up, instead choosing to peer up at Chanyeol.

“What are we doing?”

“Going to my parent’s house?” Chanyeol phrases it like a question, swinging his legs over the ledge and hoping out of
the truck. Baekhyun glares as he stands up himself, taking extra caution when he hops out of the bed of the truck. He
manages not to fall, though, so he counts it as a win.

“Okay, but where is it?”

“Across the bay.”

“Across the bay.”

“Yes.”

Baekhyun pauses. Does that mean-

“We have to take a boat to get there.”

“Oh, fuck no.” Baekhyun replies, and luckily only Chanyeol hears him. The younger sighs and rolls his eyes, unloading
their luggage one by one while he glances at Baekhyun.

“It’s like, a 5 to 10 minute ride, depending on how the water is.”

“I can’t swim.”

“Well, lucky for you, we’ve decided that the water is too cold to scuba dive over this time.” Chanyeol deadpans.
Baekhyun doesn’t find him funny. At all.

“What if I fall out?”

“We’ll pull you back in?”

“You’re not funny, Park Chanyeol.”

“We have life jackets, if you need one.” Chanyeol doesn’t say it in a condescending tone, like Baekhyun had expected
him too, so he’s thankful. He’s actually quite terrified.

“Why can’t we just-”

“Grab your stuff and come on, please. They’re going to leave without us.”

Baekhyun notices that everyone else is already waiting in the boat, so he groans and grabs his bags and follows
Chanyeol to the ladder. He’s expecting Chanyeol to lower the bags carefully to someone, preferably not Sehun, but
instead he fucking chucks them into the boat from above the dock. Baekhyun watches in horror as reaches for each
bag, not caring at all that there’s a fucking ocean beneath the boat that can carry their luggage to God know’s where if
he misses. He’s still thinking about this concept when Chanyeol picks up one of Baekhyun’s bags and chucks it,
except it skirts off of the damn boat and lands in the water in front of it. Yixing, Baekhyun is pretty sure it’s Yixing,
grabs it quickly, but by then it’s been submerged and most likely ruined. Baekhyun shrieks.

“Chanyeol!”

“Sorry! I missed.”

“Yeah, no shit! That bag was $600!”

“Why the fuck would you spend $600 on a bag?!”

“It’s Salvatore Ferragamo, that’s why!”

Chanyeol simply rolls his eyes and reaches for another bag, but Baekhyun snatches the remaining three away from
him and glares. Chanyeol holds up his hands in defense and then walks towards the ladder, lowering himself down it
quickly.

“Fine. You figure out how to get them down here.”

The Fan Club, or at least most of them, snicker behind Chanyeol, and someone says ‘They’re like an old married
couple’. Someone else shouts ‘He comes with a lot of baggage!’ sarcastically, and if the three bags by Baekhyun’s
side didn’t cost nearly $3,000 combined, he’d throw one of them at them.

“Hurry up, we’re losing daylight!” Chanyeol shouts, and Baekhyun throws a fake smile at him because he’s not stupid,
the sun doesn’t go down in Alaska .

He grabs his bags, sliding them down his arms a bit, and then turns around. He doesn’t realize how high up he
actually is until he reaches one foot down to step onto the ladder, and then he panics. Chanyeol is still standing below
him, and even though he’s confident that the Jolly Green Giant would catch him if he fell, he’s still not okay with
climbing down the ladder. It doesn’t help that every time he moves, his bags swing into him and knock him off balance.
He’s only one peg down when someone from the boat groans.

“City boy, come on, we really do have to stay on a schedule.” It sounds like Sehun, and really, Baekhyun hates him.

“Shut up, thanks.” Baekhyun calls out, taking another step down. He’s making process. The height has diminished, it
won’t hurt as bad anymore if he falls.

“Your boy is snarky, Chan. I like him.” Baekhyun has no idea who says this, but from his current position, he can see
Chanyeol laughing from below him. He wants to kick his face in but they’d surely leave him stranded then, so he
doesn’t.

“You have, like, three pegs left.” Chanyeol says two pegs later, Baekhyun still going at a snail's pace. He hasn’t fallen
yet though, so he couldn’t care less about how long he’s taking. “Do you need help?” “No.” Baekhyun grumbles out.
His hands are shaking a little, from both the fear and the pain his bags are causing his wrists. He hates everyone in
this God forsaken city at the moment.

“Yeah, Chanyeol, I always expected you to be more of a...helpful boyfriend. You made him carry all of his bags at the
airport and now look at him, he looks like a scared puppy.”

Especially fucking Sehun .

“He didn’t want to seem incompetent.”

Baekhyun reaches the last peg, and hops down from the ladder triumphantly. He promptly turns around and is met
with Chanyeol, so he shoves him, and then hitches his bags up.

“You’re an ass.” he says as he walks towards the boat, smirking as the others laugh. He’s not entirely sure how he’s
going to get into the boat, but he figures it can’t be too hard so he steps onto the ledge of it and pushes off of the dock.
Except, that backfires, because the boat starts floating away and suddenly Baekhyun is in a split, trying to hold on to
his bags, the boat, and the dock all at the same time. Everyone starts yelling and reaching for him, but luckily
Chanyeol is still there behind him, so he grabs him and throws him backwards, right before he falls into the water.

Once he’s recollected himself, and by that he means he’s recovered from nearly losing his life at the hands of a
fucking speed boat, he sighs and stands upright. Chanyeol’s arms are still around him, however he doesn’t feel
entirely safe by himself, so he doesn’t complain about it.

“Please help me.” he mumbles, admitting his defeat, and he can feel Chanyeol laughing but the younger doesn’t say
anything. He just takes Baekhyun’s bags, and gently hands them over to Joonmyeon, before unwrapping himself from
Baekhyun and climbing into the boat himself. Baekhyun has visions of the boat speeding away, leaving him on the
dock, but then Chanyeol reaches for him and tugs him towards the boat. He motions for Baekhyun to step up, which
he does, and then pulls him fully into the boat with one swift movement. Baekhyun stumbles but stays upright, and
smiles when he’s finally composed himself. He’s about to find somewhere to sit, but then he’s stopped by Sehun, who
holds out a bright orange life vest to him. “I heard you couldn’t swim.”

Baekhyun glares at the younger man, refusing to take the monstrosity, but before he knows it Chanyeol has snatched
the thing from Sehun and thrown it over his head. He has it secured and buckled before Baekhyun even gets a word
out, it’s embarrassing.

“Just in case.” he shrugs when Baekhyun glances at him. Baekhyun isn’t actually sure how to take the thing off,
anyways, so he groans and moves to one of the benches towards the end of boat so that he can sit down. It has a
handlebar on the side, too, which he clutches dearly. No one comes to sit by him, not even Chanyeol, and he’s
disappointed at first, but then he finds that he doesn’t mind. It’s peaceful, being alone.

He later finds that he’s alone because every time the boat turns, water splashes up and sprays him in the face. He
would move, but he doesn’t trust his body to keep him aboard the boat while it’s moving. It should be a confidence
booster to know that the other guys aren’t sitting by him because of the unfortunate water spray, and not because they
don’t like him, but it isn’t. Baekhyun is fucking soaked only a minute in.

Fucking Sitka , he thinks, staring out at the open water.

Fucking Sitka.

Notes:

There were only supposed to be 5 chapters in this story, each containing no more than 5,000 words, but then I spent 2
hours and 3,000 words writing about a fucking airplane, so here we are. I don't know how

long this is going to be now. This is more of a filler chapter though, but it's still funny, so I hope you like it anyways! I
hope to have the next chapter up tomorrow sometime. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 3 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21094505) : Chapter
3
Baekhyun hears them before he sees them. And by this, he means that rather than being greeted by the sight of a
loving family welcoming their son home for the first time in awhile, they’re instead screamed at by three women
standing on the landing dock. It’s a mix of Korean and English, and Baekhyun doesn’t want to be rude but it kind of
reminds him of a pack of screaming hyenas. Chanyeol isn’t quiet, persay, but he definitely isn’t this loud, so Baekhyun
is confused.

“Ah, what a sight.” someone says as they pull the boat up to the dock slowly, everyone on board bustling about.
Baekhyun doesn’t move. He’s not entirely sure he wants to get off.

“Your mom called me the minute she got off of the phone with you, and told me to get everyone together for a
‘Welcome Home’ party.” Baekhyun turns to find Joonmyeon addressing Chanyeol, who’s steering the boat into it’s
spot. “I think she invited the entire city.”

“Party? She didn’t tell me about that.” Chanyeol sighs. Baekhyun nearly cries when he hears the word ‘party’. He looks
down at himself and cringes. The bright orange vest had kept his shirt mostly dry from the water spray that came up
from the boat, but his pants are soaked through and his shoes are all scuffed up. He doesn’t even want to know what
his hair looks like.

Chanyeol eventually parks the boat and turns it off, after backing it up so that it’s by the dock. All at once everyone
begins climbing out, making the boat rock back and forth. Baekhyun doesn’t even try to stand up, although he does
take the life vest off and throws it onto the bench beside him. He’s contemplating how he’s going to get off of the boat
with all of his bags in tow when someone sidles up next to him, grabbing his arm and tugging him up.

“We’re a couple, remember? You have to stop acting cold towards me, especially around my family.” Chanyeol
mutters, close to Baekhyun’s ear. “And we’ll tell them all when I want to. You don’t get a say, okay?” “Geesh, bossy
much?” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but doesn’t tug his arm away. “I don’t do PDA though.” “I’m not asking you to make
out with me in front of everyone. You just have to stop looking at me like you want to kill me.” Chanyeol takes one of
Baekhyun’s bags and places it on the dock, then climbs out of the boat. No one else is within earshot, all having taken
off to the mainland, so Baekhyun sighs. “Fine. Whatever. But I’m not meeting anyone until I can change. I smell like
fish.”

“Yeah, it’s rank.” Chanyeol jokes. He grabs the other three bags while Baekhyun scowls at him. “I’ll tell my mom we
need to cleanup before we head into the party. We’ll just go through the back door.” “Whatever works.” Baekhyun
mumbles. He doesn’t care if he has to be smuggled into the house, he’s just not walking into a room full of people he
doesn’t know smelling like body odor, fish chum, and wet dog. “Give me your hand.” Chanyeol orders, once all of the
bags are safely off of the boat. Baekhyun wants to tell him to fuck off, but then he remembers his experience getting
on the boat, and he really doesn’t want that to happen in front of whom he assumes is Chanyeol’s family, so he sighs
and reaches his hand out in front of him. Chanyeol takes it and tugs him up, steadying him once his legs hit the wood.
They’re a little wobbly but it’s not as bad as Baekhyun had thought, so he sighs and grabs his carry on. “I’m fine.” he
says, about to tug his hand away, but Chanyeol just reaches down and tangles their fingers together.

“You’re holding my hand.”

“I said I didn’t do PDA.”

“The last relationship I was in, we held hands all the time. It’s all my mom knows. Stop arguing with me.” Chanyeol
picks up the remaining bags, with literally no effort Baekhyun hates him, and starts walking towards the house.
Baekhyun groans, but goes along with it. He can’t exactly argue with that.

“Chanyeol!” one of the women shrieks when they reach the end of the dock, running over to the two of them with her
arms wide open. Baekhyun’s eyes widen, and he quickly detaches himself from Chanyeol before the woman crashes
into him. The other two follow quickly behind, not even taking a notice to Baekhyun while they engulf the younger in a
hug. Baekhyun just stares in horror at the four of them.

“I missed you so much!” the first woman practically yells, clutching at Chanyeol as if her life depends on it. Chanyeol
laughs and nuzzles into her, burying his face in her neck even though he’s at least 6 inches taller than her. He then
releases her, though, and turns to the other two who are waiting patiently for their turn. He hugs both of them, kisses
their cheeks, and then pulls back with a smile.

“I missed you too, eomma.” he says. His eyes are practically twinkling, and usually Baekhyun would scoff because the
entire scene is a little cheesy, but he can’t help but smile.

“Now don’t be rude, Park Chanyeol. Who’s your friend?” The eldest woman, who Baekhyun assumes is Chanyeol’s
grandmother, turns to Baekhyun and smirks. Baekhyun smiles shyly back at her. For some reason, the woman makes
him nervous.

“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun and smiles. “This is Baekhyun. My, uh, boyfriend.” “Well, we knew that
much.” the youngest woman says, and turns to Baekhyun. She smiles, and instead of going for a handshake like
Baekhyun suspects, she reaches forward and hugs him. “I’m Yoora, Chanyeol’s older sister. It’s nice to meet you.”

Baekhyun hugs her back, lightly, and then pulls back, smiling. His cheeks kind of hurt, but it’s almost infectious. This
family is so damn happy.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’m the mom, Yeongmi. Welcome to our home.” Chanyeol’s mom hugs him this time, squeezing him tight and almost
patting his hair. It’s weird, but also oddly comforting, so he let’s it happen. “Oh you poor thing, you’re soaking wet!”
Chanyeol’s mom let’s him go, and turns to the younger with a scowl on her face. “Why is he wet?”

“He sat at the back of the boat.” Chanyeol explains, though it’s obvious he’s trying to hold back his laughter. Mrs. Park
rolls her eyes. Chanyeol is almost a carbon copy of her, Baekhyun notices. It’s kind of amusing.

“Nobody thought to tell the poor man about the boat spray?” Mrs. Park throws her hands up and then turns to
Baekhyun, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the house. “I apologize for my son and his rude friends. Come
now, we’ll get you changed before we head over to the party.”

Baekhyun simply lets himself be tugged to the house, glancing once back at Chanyeol, who’s chuckling and carting all
of the luggage behind him. Baekhyun finds the whole ordeal a little odd, if he’s being honest. Just yesterday this same
family was calling him Satan and telling Chanyeol to quit working for him. He doesn’t understand why they’re being so
nice to him. He’s beginning to think he doesn’t deserve it.

“You know, we were all very surprised when Chanyeol called us last night and said the two of you were going to come
up this weekend.”

Ah. Busted.

“Oh, uh. Yeah.” Baekhyun has no idea what to say.” “We uh...we figured that you guys deserved to know, so…”

“Of course. And thank you for allowing him to come home, we’ve missed him tremendously.” Baekhyun feels like a
Grade A asshole.

“Are you terrorizing him?” Chanyeol finally catches up to the two of them, bumping his hip into Baekhyun’s to get his
attention. Baekhyun glances at him, but doesn’t say anything because the sudden fucking mansion that comes into his
view catches him off guard.
“You live here? ” he chokes out, stopping to stare at the house in front of him. It’s huge, and rustic, and there’s a
freaking barn behind it that’s bigger than anything Baekhyun has lived in, and it’s all a little overwhelming. Mrs. Park
let’s go off his wrist and laughs a little, crossing her arms. Chanyeol just shrugs.

“Yeah. Come on.” Chanyeol takes the hand Mrs. Park had previously been holding, and starts tugging at it so that
Baekhyun will start moving again. He does, stumbling forward, before catching himself and following Chanyeol the rest
of the way up to the house. Somehow Chanyeol is tugging all of the luggage behind him with only one arm, so
Baekhyun takes two of the bags and trudges up to the house behind his fake-fiance.

When they finally do reach the house, Chanyeol let’s go of Baekhyun’s hand in order to open the door for him.
Baekhyun walks through, and is immediately met with a gorgeous kitchen that leads into an even more gorgeous living
room. He’s not really sure where to go, and Chanyeol is still holding the door open for the other three, so he just stops
in the middle of the room and admires it. He’s not much of a chef, but he supposes that if he had a kitchen like this
he’d be in it every day.

“I didn’t get to properly introduce myself back at the dock.” Baekhyun turns to find Chanyeol’s grandmother staring up
at him. She’s extremely short, but Baekhyun is fairly sure she could kick his ass if she wanted to. “I’m Chanyeol’s
grandmother, but please, call me Halmi.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun gulps, and throws on a smile. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you, uh, Halmi.” “If you don’t call her Halmi, she
get’s cranky.” Suddenly Chanyeol is by Baekhyun’s side, steering him towards the back of the room. “We’re just going
to clean up in the bathroom real quick.” “Oh, no need to use the one down here. Yoora, do you want to show them to
their room upstairs?” “Oh, it’s no bother, really.” Baekhyun starts, finding his confidence. “We don’t want to dirty up a
room, since we’ll be heading to the hotel later.”

“Nonsense! No family of ours will be staying in a hotel while they’re visiting. We already cancelled your reservation.”
Mrs. Park explains. Baekhyun gapes at her, while both Chanyeol and Yoora laugh in the background.

“Oh.” Baekhyun plasters a fake smile on his face, and turns to Chanyeol. “You didn’t tell me that. Wow. How nice.” he
lowers his voice, speaking just to Chanyeol. “How did they-”

“We own the hotel.” Of course they fucking do. Chanyeol shrugs. “I think Baekhyun and I can find our room. We’ll be
down in a little bit. Is everyone out in the barn?”

“They should be here within the next 30 minutes.” Mrs. Park smiles, and gestures towards the stairs. “Holler if you
need anything.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun both just nod, and then head towards the large staircase at the front of the room. Baekhyun
follows Chanyeol up the stairs, staying close behind as to not get lost. The house is huge. There are three separate
hallways you can choose from at the top of the stairs.

“We’re in the guest room. My room was converted into an office when I left.”

Baekhyun doesn’t really care where they stay, if he’s honest. He doesn’t even respond to Chanyeol, just keeps
following him down the leftmost hallway. They finally come up to a door at the end of the hallway, and Chanyeol
pushes it open, revealing the guest room.

Baekhyun’s jaw drops.

“You can use the bathroom first.” Chanyeol mumbles, setting his stuff down on the large window seat. Baekhyun
hardly hears him, choosing instead to stare at the room. It’s huge, practically a master bedroom, with large windows
covering the entire front wall. There’s a fireplace to the left, with a walk in closet and bathroom on the right. The bed
has a canopy and huge, fluffy pillows that take up most of it. Baekhyun is in awe. It takes Chanyeol throwing one of the
smaller pillows at him to get him to snap out of it. “Come on, we need to be down there soon.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes at the younger, and then grabs one of his smaller bags and walks to the bathroom. Upon
entering it, he’s shocked again, because the bathroom is just as pretty as the main room. He really doesn’t understand
how people acquire enough money to afford such nice things. He isn’t poor by any means, but damn. What a life.

It takes Baekhyun about 15 minutes to clean himself up, because his hair is atrocious and his clothes are still sticking
to him. Chanyeol bangs on the door about 10 minutes in, telling him to hurry up, but Baekhyun just ignores him and
continues to style up his hair. He has to look nice. He doesn’t care if these people like him, really, but he still doesn’t
want to look like a mess. Or embarrass Chanyeol. He can tell the younger is kind of stressed, and he doesn’t even like
him, but he’s human. He has to feel bad.

Eventually he does emerge though, which cause Chanyeol to groan and shove him out of the way, taking over the
bathroom quickly. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and throws his dirty clothes into a trash bag he brought, and then walks
over to the large window, glancing out it. It has a spectacular view of both the mountains and the ocean, and really,
Baekhyun is starting to appreciate Sitka. Kind of. He supposes that 3 days won’t be so bad. He’ll survive.

Chanyeol comes out of the bathroom not even five minutes later, clad in jeans and a sweater, with his hair mildly less
mushroom-ish. Baekhyun stares at him.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, strapping his watch back onto his wrist. Baekhyun shrugs. “Nothing. I’ve just never seen you
in anything besides office clothes.”

“I didn’t wear office clothes on the plane?”

“Yeah. I didn’t really pay attention.” Baekhyun grabs his phone and wallet off of the bed. “You ready, babe? ”

Chanyeol stands there and stares at him for a good 30 seconds, before he flips him off and grabs his own phone. He
stuffs it into his pocket and then heads towards the door, walking out of the room without saying a word to Baekhyun.
Baekhyun snickers, trailing after him.

They make their way down to the barn in the backyard, and before even entering it, Baekhyun can tell that there are a
lot of people in attendance. People are filtering in and out of the large doors, talking and eating and drinking and
genuinely looking like they’re having a good time. Baekhyun groans.

“Hold my hand.” Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun’s hand before he even has a chance to respond. “Don’t say anything, I
swear if you embarrass me…”

“I’m not going to, shut up.” Baekhyun digs his fingernail into Chanyeol’s thumb, making the younger yelp. “What’s the
plan, anyways? What if someone asks me a question?”

“We’ve been dating for 6 months, just tell them what I told the guys if they ask why we didn’t tell anyone.” Chanyeol
smiles at a man who walks by. “I’ll pick when to...announce the announcement.” “You know, you’re really bossy. I’m
still your boss, I can fire you.”

“Yes, please, go ahead and do so. I’ll make sure to be there when the plane ships you back to Korea, cheering you
on.”

Baekhyun just rolls his eyes, choosing not to respond, mostly because they’re nearing the barn doors and he doesn’t
want to say anything mean. Too many prying ears, too many risks. He’ll just save it for later, when he can flush the
toilet when Chanyeol is taking a shower and then tell him he looks like a giraffe.

“There’s the happy couple!” a voice shouts when they finally enter the large room. Everyone, literally everyone, turns
towards them and smiles. Cheers break out across the audience and Baekhyun tries not to scowl.
“About time.” someone says, walking up to them. Baekhyun thinks it’s Minseok, if he remembers correctly. “What were
you guys doing up there?”

“Baekhyun decided to change his outfit four times.”

Baekhyun smacks Chanyeol on the chest, lightly, because he’s not supposed to be mean anymore. He’s
compromising.

“Haha.” he deadpans, turning towards Minseok. “Chanyeol had a stomach spell. I felt bad, so I waited up there with
him. I think he feels better now.”

Baekhyun looks up, and smiles sweetly at Chanyeol. Chanyeol glares down at him, his fucking Yoda ears bright red,
and then turns to Minseok.

“You guys are oddly endearing.” Minseok says. “I’m going to go see where Chen went, he keeps disappearing.”

They watch as Minseok leaves, trudging towards the door in search of his friend. Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows
together.

“Are they together?”

“Hm?” Chanyeol peers down at him, an eyebrow raised. “Minseok and Chen? No. Or at least they haven’t said
anything if they are.” he chuckles, shaking his head.

“Oh.” Baekhyun nods. “Sehun and Luhan are together, right?” Luhan was pretty much curled up in Sehun’s lap on the
ride over, so…

“Oh yeah. They’ve been together since high school.” Chanyeol pauses, and smiles at a woman who approaches them.
He greets her, and then introduces Baekhyun briefly, and then she’s off, moving on to someone else. It’s very quick
and kind of uncomfortable. Baekhyun scrunches up his nose. “So are Kris and Tao.”

“What?”

“Kris and Tao. They’re together too.” Chanyeol points to the two, who are over by the food table, looking like they’d
rather be anywhere else. Baekhyun can relate.

“And Joonmyeon and Yixing.” Chanyeol points to them, where they’re sitting by a window talking to an elderly man
and woman. Baekhyun squints at them. Huh.

“Anyone else?” Baekhyun asks, turning back to Chanyeol. He’s beginning to feel like he’s in a soap opera. Chanyeol
sighs.

“And, uh...Jongin and Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol’s face falls, looking like someone’s just insulted
both him and his entire family.

“Why’d you say it like that?”

“Like what?” Chanyeol shrugs. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and pokes the younger in the side. They’ve made their way
over towards some tables, so Chanyeol accidentally knocks into one. Baekhyun chuckles at him. “Like it physically
pains you to look at them together.” Baekhyun smirks. “What, did you date one of them?”

Chanyeol pauses. Baekhyun gapes at him.

“Please tell me it was Jongin, and not Kyungsoo, because-”

“It was Kyungsoo. We dated all throughout high school and college. 8 years…” Chanyeol sounds sad, and now
Baekhyun understands why he was practically attached to the other man on the way home. “Are you serious? You
dated that for 8 years? The Satan-penguin?”

“Satan-penguin?” Chanyeol stares down at him incredulously, his eyes wide. “If he’s a Satan-penguin, then you’re a
Satan-puppy. What the fuck?”

“No, don’t compare me to a puppy, gross.”

“You are though. You look like one.”

“I do not.”

“Yes you do. Like a small chihuahua.”

“If I’m a fucking chihuahua, then you’re Yoda.” Baekhyun bites back. He smirks, but then Chanyeol stills and drops his
hands.

“Because of my ears, right? Like I haven’t heard that one…”

“Wait, I didn’t mean-”

Chanyeol cuts him off, looking hurt and upset. Baekhyun’s eyes widen. He didn’t mean it like that, necessarily.

“I’m, uh, going to go get a drink.” Chanyeol stuffs his hands into his pocket. He looks around for a second, and then
takes off, leaving Baekhyun standing there by himself. Baekhyun watches him go, not knowing what to do. Fuck.

Not even 10 seconds later someone walks up besides him, standing so close that Baekhyun can feel the body heat
radiating off of them. He turns his head, slowly, and comes face to face with Kyungsoo. The man looks murderous.
Baekhyun gulps.

“What’d you say?”

“What?” Baekhyun takes a step to his right, adding a bit of space in between them. “Nothing.” “He looks upset. He’s
never upset, especially around the people he loves.”

“It was nothing.” Baekhyun doesn’t like the way that this guy is peering into their private lives. It’s annoying, and kind of
creepy.

“Look.” Kyungsoo turns and faces him head on, scowling. “I dated him for 8 years. I don’t know if he told you that, but
we did. I know him like the back of my hand. I also know that he’s a terrible liar, and that he

hates you. So what’s the deal?”

“What?” Baekhyun’s eyes widen even further, if that’s even possible. He’s not sure what to say. “What makes you say
that?”

“We’re still friends, so he calls me. And he complains about you. I could understand if you needed to lie to the office,
but to his friends and family? It doesn’t make sense. He tells his mom and sister everything.” “We didn’t want to-”
Baekhyun pauses. He doesn’t know how to explain the situation. “Just don’t hurt him, please. I still care about him,
and whatever is going on here, I don’t want it to affect him.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun pauses. “I won’t hurt him. I promise, okay?”

Kyungsoo just nods, and then looks forward. “Ah, it looks like the Park men have reunited.” Baekhyun follows his gaze
and finds Chanyeol glaring at an older man, one whom looks quite similar to him. Baekhyun figures it’s his father. The
two are in an all out glare-war, but soon enough Chanyeol breaks it and starts talking. He looks pissed. Baekhyun is a
little worried. Kyungsoo sighs.

“Have you met his dad?” Baekhyun shakes his head. “Have fun, then.”

He leaves after that, walking off behind Baekhyun and leaving him alone. Baekhyun lets out a huff air. Kyungsoo is
intimidating as fuck, and Baekhyun is 100% sure he’s on to them. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was the spy the INS
set up for the weekend. How convenient. He doesn’t get a chance to ponder the thought anymore, though, because
before he knows it Chanyeol is walking up to him, grabbing his hand, and addressing the entire room.

“Everyone, if I could have your attention please.” Chanyeol walks over to the middle of the room, dragging Baekhyun
behind him.

“I have an announcement to make.” Baekhyun’s eyeballs practically fall out of his socket as his jaw drops. Not here,
Chanyeol. Fuck.

“Baekhyun and I are engaged!”

The room stills. No one moves, Baekhyun is fairly certain time has stopped. And then Luhan lets out a fucking holler
from the back of the room, and suddenly everyone is cheering and congratulating them. Mrs. Park is crying. Halmi is
clapping. Yoora looks stunned. Mr. Park looks pissed, and storms out of the room. Kyungsoo looks about 5 seconds
away from setting Baekhyun on fire. Baekhyun doesn’t know how to feel. He just stands there and smiles, because it’s
all he can do.

“Oh, boys, I’m so happy for you!” Mrs. Park walks up to them two of them and pulls them into a hug, sobbing softly into
Baekhyun’s shirt because he’s the shorter of the two. He pats her back softly. He doesn’t know what to say to her, and
Chanyeol is busy talking to someone who’s walked up to him, so he just stands there. Patting. Staring.

“Oh, Eomma Park, they’re not dying!” Suddenly Joonmyeon is there, pulling Mrs. Park off of Baekhyun with a smile.

“These are happy tears, boy.” She swats him on the arm lightly, but pulls him into a hug as well. He happily accepts it
and rubs her back. Baekhyun stands there awkwardly until Yixing walks up, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“Never thought our boy would settle down, but look at him. You must be special.” he squeezes Baekhyun’s shoulders.
Somehow, Baekhyun isn’t annoyed by it. He smiles.

Eventually Chanyeol gets done talking to the lady from before, and turns back to the rest of them. He wraps his mom
into one last hug before pulling apart and smiling at Baekhyun. Baekhyun smiles back. The tension from earlier, about
the ears, seems to be forgotten for a moment. Baekhyun is thankful for it, because he honestly feels bad. He kind of
even likes Chanyeol’s ears…

“Oh, oh! You must tell us the story!” Mrs. Park suddenly says, detaching herself from her son and moving to a chair.
Almost instantly a crowd gathers around them, mostly women, though all of Chanyeol’s friends are present. Baekhyun
quirks an eyebrow up.

“The story?”

“The proposal story!” Yoora shouts, waving for them to continue. Baekhyun mentally groans. “You know what,
Baekhyun loves telling this story, I think I’ll let him do it.” Chanyeol smiles sweetly at him and goes to sit by his mother,
throwing an arm around her shoulders. Baekhyun smiles at him, but in his mind, he’s killing him ten different ways.

“Wow.” Baekhyun begins, nodding his head. He can see Kyungsoo in the back, leaning against Jongin, the latter’s
arms wrapped around his torso. They’re cute, he thinks, before turning back to the crowd. They’re all watching him,
waiting expectantly. Baekhyun sighs.

“Well,” he begins, smiling, “-it was on a Saturday night. You see, sometimes I work on the weekends, and when I do,
it’s usually pretty late because some artists like to have all of their songs recorded in one day.” The crowd nods.
Baekhyun hates the way Mrs. Park’s eyes are shining. He feels horrible. “And when I stay late, I usually don’t eat.
Because the cafeteria is closed. So sometimes Chanyeol brings me dinner. What’d you bring me that day, I can’t
remember?” Baekhyun looks down at Chanyeol, who looks clueless.

“Um. Chick-fil-a, if I remember correctly.”

“Ah! That’s right! I love their chicken sandwiches.” The crowd laughs. Baekhyun smirks. He should be a comedian.

“So he brings me dinner, except I’m about leave because I’m done for the day, so he meets up with me as I’m locking
up the office. Of course he didn’t call, he never does.”

Mrs. Park nods along, like she knows exactly what Baekhyun is talking about. At least I got something right, he thinks.

“I didn’t want the food to get cold on the drive home, so we went back into the office and ate in the sound booth. It’s
our favorite thing to do.” One time they did that, actually, except Baekhyun had to order the food because Chanyeol
was late on his rent, and they didn’t talk, Baekhyun just sent angry emails to the people who made him work late and
Chanyeol fixed the broken sound equipment.

“We were sitting there, eating and talking, and all of the sudden he just blurted out ‘Marry me’. Our ever the eloquent
Park Chanyeol. And I was pretty stunned, because we’d only been dating for 6 months, but he said this whole long
speech, and I sat there speechless, and then I said okay and here we are.” Baekhyun watches as nearly every female,
including Luhan and Tao, melt at his words. Some wipe away their tears. It isn’t even romantic, but whatever.

“That’s why there isn’t a ring, because it was totally unplanned.” Chanyeol adds in. “I just looked at him and...knew.”

Baekhyun wants to throw up. It’s so cheesy and not him and he’s just overwhelmed and disgusted. But the crowd
loves it, so he goes with it.

“Oh, Christ, after that story we definitely need to see a kiss!” Halmi shouts from her spot on the left of Mrs. Park.
Baekhyun’s eyes widen.

“Oh, no-”

“We’re not big on PDA.” Chanyeol reasons. Halmi rolls her eyes. If she wasn’t forcing Baekhyun to kiss Chanyeol, he’d
probably like her. She’s a sassy little lady.

“Shut up and kiss your fiance, boy.” She waves them on their way, and really, they don’t have a choice, so Baekhyun
sighs and turns to Chanyeol. Chanyeol shrugs, and before Baekhyun knows it, he leans down and pecks him on the
cheek.

“Well for God’s sake, son, there aren’t any children here! Use some tongue!”

“Halmi!” Chanyeol blurts, clearly flustered. The crowd laughs, including Halmi.

“Go on now, I’m not getting any younger!”

Baekhyun sighs and turns back to Chanyeol, who’s staring down at him. It’s awkward, so awkward, but they’re being
forced so Baekhyun swallows his pride, stands up on his tippy toes, and presses his lips to Chanyeol’s. They stand
there for a few seconds, until Chanyeol’s hand comes up and cups Baekhyun’s cheek. Baekhyun leans into the touch,
and he’s really not sure where the kiss is going, but then Halmi cuts them off and saves him from further
embarrassment.

“Alright boys, save the rest for when you’re alone later tonight.”

Baekhyun chokes, and then buries his flustered face into Chanyeol’s chest. He doesn’t mean to, it just happens, but
luckily Chanyeol doesn’t do anything but pat the side of his head and laugh. “What would we do without you, Halmi?”
he hears Chanyeol say, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. Baekhyun wants to pull away, but Chanyeol is still patting
his head, which has kind of turned into him petting his hair down, so he doesn’t because it feels nice and he’s still
incredibly embarrassed. Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind, though, but eventually he pulls his hand away and taps at
Baekhyun’s chin. Baekhyun looks up, scowling.

“Are you hungry?”

“Um, yeah.” Baekhyun answers. He’s actually starving, if he’s being honest. Chanyeol just nods and takes his hand
into his own, pulling him towards the food table. Baekhyun’s not really sure what’s all set out, but he isn’t entirely too
picky, so he picks up a plate and starts spooning things on. He’s about to reach for a green looking salad thing, but
Chanyeol’s voice cuts him off, so he puts the spoon down and looks up. “You won’t like that.”

“Why not?” Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows.

“It’s spicy.” Chanyeol mumbles, and Baekhyun doesn’t miss the way his ears redden. He bites his lip, nodding and
moving on to the next dish.

Once they have their food, Chanyeol leads them over to a table in the back where the majority of his friends are sitting.
He and Baekhyun take the only two open seats and then dig in, not waiting for anyone to say anything. Most of the
others are already almost done with their food anyways.

Baekhyun is digging in to some type of barbeque when suddenly Chen, who’s back from God knows where, looks
directly at him and begins speaking.

“Chanyeol, after Kyungsoo, has been more of a fuck-em-and-dump-em kind of guy. So, what makes you so special?”

Baekhyun chokes. Chanyeol damn near screams. Sehun fucking loses it, cackling while he falls out of his chair.
Kyungsoo looks scandalized. Jongin’s face turns the color a tomato.

“Um, what?”

“What made this giant here fall in love with you so quick? I mean, you’re not ugly, but…” Baekhyun doesn’t know what
do. He just wants to enjoy his food in peace, dammit. “This is fucking gold.” Sehun says from his spot. Baekhyun
sends him a glare. Chanyeol splutters. “I...have no idea.” Baekhyun finally answers, shrugging. What else is he
supposed to say? Luckily

Chanyeol decides to speak up, before any other questions are fired Baekhyun’s way. “Can we not?” he says, with a
tight-lipped smile. Chen holds his hands up.

“Sorry. This all just kind of sprung on us, I only want to understand.”

“It’s...I don’t know how to explain it. Especially to someone who hasn’t seen in first hand.” “Right.” Chen says, lowering
his arms. “Because you never come home anymore. Because of him. Who we all thought you hated.”

“Okay.” Minseok breaks in, drawing out the ‘o’. “Let’s take a walk, hm?” He stands up and motions for Chen to do the
same, grabbing his elbow as soon as he’s in reach. Baekhyun watches as they disappear through the barn door, and
into the night.

“He’s right, you know.” This time it’s Kris who speaks up. Baekhyun hasn’t seen him much, but the look he gives
Baekhyun suggest that maybe that’s a good thing. “You never come home anymore, and every time we ask why you
always say it’s because he makes you work.”

Baekhyun can feel his heart sinking lower and lower. He’s starting to wonder why Chanyeol has continued to work for
him all these years, when he’s been such an ass. It never occurred to him that he was being so unfair to the man,
making him work long nights and extra weekends. Baekhyun kind of just wants the world to swallow him whole.

“Um, I’m not really hungry anymore.” he mumbles, gathering his plate and glass together. He’s starving actually, and
he’s damn well carrying the plate back up to the room to eat it alone, but he sure isn’t sitting at the table anymore.

“Baek, come on-”

“No! No, it’s fine, honestly. I’m just a little tired, jet lagged you know?” He smiles down at Chanyeol, and then, just for
appearances, leans down and pecks him on the forehead. “I’ll see you later, okay?” He turns to the rest of the guys
sitting at the table and throws on his best fake smile. “It was nice meeting you guys.”

And then he’s off.

~~~

It’s closing on two hours later when Baekhyun finally sees Chanyeol again. Baekhyun has already showered, and is in
his pajamas, when the younger walks through the bedroom door. “Hi.” Baekhyun offers. He’s reading a book he
brought with him, but puts it down when Chanyeol sits down on the window seat and begins taking his shoes off.

“Hey.” Chanyeol offers, throwing a small smile his way. “Um, look, about tonight. I’m sorry-” “You don’t have to be
sorry. I brought it all on myself. I never, uh…” Baekhyun pauses, finding his words. “I never really realized how much I
made you work. They’re right, I know it. So I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Wow.” Chanyeol replies, leaning back against the window. “I never thought you’d admit it.” “You ruined the moment.”
Baekhyun throws a pillow at him, scowling. Chanyeol simply laughs. “But really, I’m sorry. I’ll be more...aware.”

“Okay.”

Baekhyun sighs.

“And I’m sorry about what I said earlier. You know, about your...ears.”

Chanyeol freezes. Baekhyun can almost see him cringe.

“I wasn’t trying to be mean, I mean I was because you called me a dog, and your ears really do remind me of Yoda-”
Baekhyun is fucking this up, he knows it. “-but I...I like them. They suit you. They’re kind of, um...cute, even.”

“Cute?” Chanyeol smirks. Baekhyun groans and buries his face in a pillow.

“Shut up.”

He hears Chanyeol laugh, and peeks out from the pillow to watch him walk over to the bathroom. “I used to get made
fun of because of them when I was younger.”

Baekhyun bites his lip. Of course he did, you ass.

“That’s how I met the guys, actually. Well, Kris anyways. Some boy was picking on me during recess and Kris
threatened to beat him up. He’s always been super intimidating, because he’s 50 feet tall, so the kid backed down and
never bothered me again. The rest of the guys just followed behind after that.”

“So you guys are pretty close?” Baekhyun asks. He’s already figured that much out, but Chanyeol is actually talking to
him, without arguing with him, so he goes with it.

“Yeah. We’ve all been best friends since elementary school.” Chanyeol smiles, grabbing some clothes out of his bag.

“That’s nice.” Baekhyun doesn’t really keep in touch with his friends much anymore. “You guys are an...interesting
bunch. I don’t mean to like, be rude, but it’s almost odd how you’re all, you know, Korean and...gay?”

Chanyeol laughs. Baekhyun’s just glad he didn’t offend him.

“Finally found your people, huh?”

“No.” Baekhyun scowls. Chanyeol laughs even more.

“Yixing, Luhan, Kris and Tao are all Chinese. But I think we all gravitated towards each other because we were the odd
ones out.” Baekhyun just nods. Interesting.

“Well, it must be nice, having so many close friends.”

“Yeah, they’re great.” Chanyeol’s smile widens. “Half of them have already asked me who the best man is.”

Baekhyun nearly chokes. Oh right, they’re getting married.

“Who’s it going to be?”

“Oh, Sehun, definitely. I think they all know that anyways. We’re the closest.”

Baekhyun gags, rolling his eyes.

“God, really, him? He’s so…”

“Blunt? Rude? Yeah, it’s my favorite trait of his.” Chanyeol laughs again, and then points to the bathroom. “I’m going to
go take a shower, I still smell like rain.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun nods. “Uh, I’m probably going to get to bed, I’m pretty tired.”

“Alright. I’ll just make a pallet on the floor when I get out.”

Baekhyun doesn’t argue with that, because he doesn’t want to share a bed with Chanyeol, so he just nods towards
him. Chanyeol smiles and then heads into the bathroom. Baekhyun is about to turn over and try to get some sleep, but
then Chanyeol comes back out, catching his attention.

“By the way, that quilt on the end of the bed, that’s The Baby Maker. Halmi brought it in when we were still at the
party.”

“The what?” Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol like he’s crazy.

“The Baby Maker. It’s been in the family since my great great grandmother got engaged.” “Does Halmi know that we,
as two men, cannot-”

“Yes.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “She said it was for good luck, whatever that means. Just...don’t touch it.” Baekhyun
scowls at the thing, nudging it with his foot so that it falls off of the bed. Chanyeol laughs at him and then closes the
bathroom door, leaving Baekhyun to himself. Finally having some peace and quiet, Baekhyun turns over in the bed
and closes his eyes. They’re closed for all of five seconds before he realizes that he’s not going to be able to sleep,
because the fucking sun is shining down on his face. Fucking Sitka.

“Fuck, fuck.” Baekhyun mumbles, moving around in the bed until his face isn’t in the direct light anymore. The position
is highly uncomfortable, though, so he sits up and runs a hand down his face. He’s about to give up and just sleep
under the comforter, so be it if he suffocates himself, but then he finds a remote sitting on the table next to the bed.
Curious, he picks it up, and clicks the big green button. Instantly, the fireplace turns on, so Baekhyun clicks it again,
willing it to go off. He pushes a few more of the buttons until finally a set of blackout curtains move across the large
windows. In ten seconds the room is pitch black, perfect for sleeping, so Baekhyun sets the remote down and smiles.

God bless.
Chapter 4 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21176324) : Chapter
4
“Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun!” Baekhyun feels something soft, he’s assuming it’s a pillow, hit the side of his face. He startles awake,
sitting upright almost instantly while clutching his chest. Chanyeol is still on the ground, though he’s awake and glaring
at Baekhyun.

“The phone.”

“What phone?” Baekhyun asks, grabbing his glasses from off of the bedside table. He shoves them onto his face and
then looks around the room, half awake, half wondering where in the hell he is. He hears it though, the ringing of his
work phone, and in a fit of panic, almost falls off of the bed.

“Where is it?!” he nearly shouts, patting around the bed in an attempt to find it. “Chanyeol, where’s my phone?!”

“The bag, Baekhyun, left pocket.” Chanyeol groans, and out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun watches him throw a
pillow over his head. “Hurry up, oh my God!”

“Shut up!” Baekhyun hisses, diving off of the bed and reaching for his bag. He fishes around for his phone in all of the
pockets before finally coming up with it. He taps on the ‘accept’ button a few times before it finally connects to the call,
and then quickly brings the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Byun? It’s David Burd.”

“Ah! Mr. Burd, how are you?” Baekhyun squeaks out, his eyes widening. He looks at the clock on the bedside table
and nearly chokes when he reads 9:30 a.m.

“Just fine, thanks. I wanted to ask why we had to reschedule for today.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” Baekhyun had almost forgotten about the recording session he so mournfully had to reschedule.
“Um, I assume our secretary explained a little to you?”

While David is replying, talking about how he’s concerned with the song getting done on time, Baekhyun notices
Chanyeol glaring at him. He holds a hand up, as if to ask ‘what?’, and Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “Go outside.” he
mouths, shooing Baekhyun away. Baekhyun scowls at him, but quickly grabs his robe and makes his way out of the
room. He doesn’t want to deal with a grumpy Chanyeol, especially after he’s just woken up.

Unfortunately, though, the service in the hallway is damn near nonexistent, so Baekhyun has to make his way down
into the living room. It isn’t much better there, and David is breaking up to the point where Baekhyun can’t even
understand him, so he decides to head outside and see if it’s any better there.

“If you’ll just give me one second, Mr. Burd. The service is horrible here.” Baekhyun finds a pair of fishing boots near
the front door, and he doesn’t know whose they are, but he pulls them on anyways and walks outside. It’s nice out, he
notes, and then continues walking until he can finally hear the man on the other line.

He talks to David Burd for a few minutes, explaining that no, he’s not giving up on him, but is so rudely interrupted
when a small dog comes running up to him and begins barking and yipping at his heels. Baekhyun recognizes him as
Brian, the dog Halmi had been carrying around the night before, and groans. He swore he closed the door.
“Would you shut up?!” he whisper-yells, swatting at the thing. His eyes widen in horror when he realizes that his mouth
had been by the speaker, though.

“No, not you Mr. Burd, I’m talking to a dog.” It doesn’t sound much better, but it’ll have to do. Baekhyun sighs. “What
were we discussing again?”

Mr. Burd repeats whatever he had said and really, Baekhyun would love to focus all of his attention on him because it’s
his job, however the damn dog won’t leave him alone. He’s about to start crying, literally, but then he notices an eagle
circling above him and groans. Whatever it’s about to eat, Baekhyun has no interest in, so he starts heading back
towards the house. He doesn’t get very far, though, because before he knows it the fucking bird swoops down and
picks up Brian. Baekhyun is horrified.

“Brian!” Baekhyun squawks, his eyes just about popping out of their sockets. The eagle starts flying off with the dog,
and Baekhyun, not having any other choice, starts chasing after it.

“Bird! Drop him!” he screeches, running through the yard. He hears David say something over the phone, something
along the lines of asking if Baekhyun is okay, and Baekhyun panics. “Not you, Burd! The other bird!” Baekhyun runs a
hand down his face, momentarily stopping. “Hold on please, David.”

Baekhyun tracks the eagle, who’s still circling ahead for some reason, and then groans. He takes his phone away from
his ear, reaching his last resort, and suddenly chucks it at the eagle. It misses it, luckily, but it does startle the animal
into dropping Brian. It’s probably not Baekhyun’s finest idea, because he has to basically sprint to catch Brian before
the dog hits the ground, but at least he’s safe. Unfortunately though, Baekhyun’s phone is not, as he watches it get
scooped up by the spooked animal. Panicking once again, Baekhyun picks up Brian and holds him up to the eagle.

“No! Bad bird! Take the dog, dammit, give me my phone back!” He parades Brian around the yard, chasing the eagle,
but in the end it proves to be unsuccessful. The eagle flies off with his phone, leaving him standing in the middle of the
yard with a shaking Brian. Pissed, he sets Brian down and runs his hands through his hair. He watches as the dog
runs back to the house, yipping and barking like he hadn’t just been eagle bait. Baekhyun hates him.

“I don’t know what kind of pastime activities you participate in, but here in Sitka, we don’t sacrifice our pets to flying
animals.”

Baekhyun turns, suddenly, and finds Chanyeol standing on the front steps of the house. He glares at him, crossing his
arms.

“I wasn’t sacrificing him. The eagle took my phone, I had to try to get it back.” he argues, even though he totally was
sacrificing Brian. Chanyeol just chuckles and walks towards him.

“I can order you a new phone, you know. We can even pick it up tomorrow.” Baekhyun grins. “And you totally were
sacrificing him. Poor dog. Just be glad my mom and Halmi missed most of the show, because they just thought you
were playing with him.”

Grin dropping, Baekhyun glances up at the house, finding Chanyeol’s mom and Halmi standing by the large window in
the kitchen. They’re waving at him, clearly laughing, and Baekhyun sighs. He turns back to Chanyeol, who’s now by
his side.

“What, am I your entertainment?”

“No, you’re actually a really boring person.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “But when you hear screaming coming from your
front lawn, you tend to take notice.”

“I wasn’t screaming.”
“You were screaming.” Chanyeol sighs. “And sacrificing my dog.”

“I’m going to smile, because your mom and Halmi are staring at us, but just know that right now, I want to strangle you
to death.”

“Ditto.” Chanyeol smiles back. “Luhan texted me this morning. He said that they all want to take you out around town
today. That’s mostly what I came out here to tell you.”

“What?” Baekhyun’s smile drops, clearly taken aback. “Funny, because just last night they hated me.” “I talked to
them, after you left. They were all just mad that I hadn’t been home for awhile, and were kind of hurt that I’d been lying
to them.”

“Oh.”

“I told them that it was more or less my choice, and that I just said you were forcing me because I didn’t know how to
tell my parents that I didn’t want to come home.”

“But it wasn’t your choice.”

“Right, but I wasn’t going to tell them that.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes. Baekhyun doesn’t understand at all why he had
defended him.

“Well, even so, why would they want to hang out with me?”

“I said that if they just took the time to get to know you, they’d like you.”

Baekhyun stares at the younger, his eyebrows knitting together.

“You know me, and you hate me.”

“Hate’s a strong word.

“Dislike me, then.”

Chanyeol simply shrugs.

“Well, you really don’t have a choice anyways. They’ll be here in 30 minutes to pick you up.” “30 minutes?! Chanyeol,
what the fuck, I’m not even dressed!.”

Chanyeol laughs, and then suddenly wraps Baekhyun into a bear hug. Baekhyun stills. “Then you better go get ready.”
he pauses, squeezing Baekhyun tightly. “Hug me back, they’re still watching.”

Baekhyun sneaks a glance up to the house, and sure enough, Mrs. Park and Halmi are still there. He sighs and slowly
brings his arms up and around Chanyeol, hugging him back.

“I’m putting itching powder into your bags.”

“That’s fine.” Chanyeol pulls away, and then motions for Baekhyun to be on his way. Baekhyun scowls at him. He
hates him. He honest to God hates him, and kind of wishes the eagle had picked him up and took him instead of the
phone. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with Park Chanyeol and his complicated friends, most of which dislike him
anyways. He really doesn’t understand why they want to be around him, but it’s not like he gets a say in it anyways, so
he defeatedly makes his way back into the house after groaning. He offers a greeting to both Mrs. Park and Halmi
before heading towards the stairs, climbing them two at a time and then finding the room.

He spends the next 30 minutes getting himself ready, spending most of the time trying to tame his hair down from the
bird's nest it had formed into from his morning run. He also finds it hard picking an outfit out, because he doesn’t think
his business casual clothes he packed are appropriate for a ‘day out with the boys’, but eventually he makes due with
a pair of black jeans and a red flannel. And because he’s petty, he sits on the bed for 5 more minutes and admires
himself in the mirror while Chanyeol yells at him from the hallway because “they’re fucking here, Baekhyun, hurry the
hell up!”.

“About damn time.” Chanyeol mutters when Baekhyun finally does open the door. He’s leaning against the wall across
from the room, looking both exhausted and annoyed. Baekhyun laughs at him. “It takes time to create perfection.”
Baekhyun replies sarcastically. Chanyeol gapes at him. “You’re the dumbest person I’ve ever met. Come on.” He
grabs Baekhyun’s hand and starts dragging him towards the stairs. Baekhyun doesn’t put up much of a fight, just
laughs because Chanyeol is dramatic as hell. He lets himself be dragged down the stairs and then into the kitchen,
which is where they eventually meet up with all of Chanyeol’s friends. They’re mingling around the room, talking to one
another or raiding the pantry, and Baekhyun sighs.

“Took you guys long enough. What were you doing up there?” Sehun asks, and Baekhyun nearly cries for the second
time that day because Sehun smirks at the two of them. Chanyeol, though, just laughs. “Waiting for his ass to pick an
outfit out.”

Baekhyun glares at him, and rips his hand out of the younger’s grasp.

“Figures.” Sehun tilts his head, and then bites his lip. “I see you went for the lumberjack look today.” “Sehun!” Luhan
practically yells, smacking the man on the shoulder. He’s clearly biting his laughter back, though, and honestly
Baekhyun misses the Luhan that had helped him with his luggage. This Luhan sucks.

“You don’t look like a lumberjack.” Yixing says from across the kitchen. He has half of a poptart in his hand. Baekhyun
smiles at him. “Although it is odd to see you in something other than business slacks and a dress shirt.”

Smile dropped. Baekhyun sighs and glances up at Chanyeol.

“You’re coming, right? Why aren’t you dressed?”

“No. I’m actually going to stay back and do some things around the house.” Baekhyun’s eyes widen. He’s not okay
with this, not one bit of it. He’d actually rather get thrown into an active volcano, honestly. Someone better drive him on
up to Mount Edgecumbe, because he’s sacrificing himself to the volcano. “Oh, well, I mean don’t you think-”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine without him for just one day!” Suddenly Chen is beside him, throwing an arm around his
shoulders and grinning. Baekhyun is confused because this is the same Chen from last night, who looked about ready
to murder him.

“I suppose I owe you an apology from last night, I didn’t realize how gone Chanyeol actually was for you.” Baekhyun
just nods. He’s uncomfortable as hell, and he’s pretty sure Chen is bipolar. “We’re going to have fun today without the
giant!”

“We do have to get going though, our lane reservation starts in 20 minutes.” Joonmyeon tells the group, to which they
all jump up and begin making their way towards the front door. Baekhyun scowls. “We’re going bowling?” It’s the only
thing he can think of upon hearing the word ‘lane’, and honestly, bowling?

“Hey, don’t knock it. There’s not much to do here in Sitka, but Sitka Lanes holds a lot of memories. Plus, bowling with
us is always fun.” Jongin explains. He has yet to speak directly to Baekhyun, so Baekhyun is kind of taken aback at
first, but eventually he just nods again and sighs.

“If you need anything, just call me.” Chanyeol is by Baekhyun’s side again, taking his arm and gently turning him so
that he’s facing the younger head on. He jerks his head back slowly, and Baekhyun just knows he’s silently telling him
to hug him or some shit because they’re watching, so Baekhyun stands up on his tippy
toes and presses a kiss to the man’s cheek. He steps back down and smirks, not missing the way Chanyeol’s ears
turn red.

“See you later, babe.” And then he’s off, following the other 10 freaking people out the door and down to the dock.

The boat ride over to the mainland is significantly better this time around, mostly because Baekhyun chooses to sit in
the front this time instead of the back. People even sit by him, so really, he’s already considering the entire trip a
success. They even talk to him, even though he barely replies because he’s still nervous about the water. Overall, it’s
not a bad trip. His spirits are so high that he’s not even all that upset about having to ride in the Truck From Hell once
they get off of the boat. He just happily climbs up into the truck bed and finds his spot.

“You really weren’t kidding when you said everyone had assigned seats.” he jokes to Luhan once he and Sehun have
sat themselves down. Everyone is in the same exact spot they were in when Baekhyun rode with them the first time;
it’s almost comical.

“No, I wasn’t.” Luhan laughs. He’s not in Sehun’s lap this time, but he does throw a leg over the man’s lap. Kyungsoo
and Jongin, however, sit the exact same way they had previously.

The ride to the bowling alley only lasts a couple of minutes, and there’s not much of a conversation that goes on, but
Baekhyun isn’t really put off by it. In fact, he’s rather happy, because Sehun doesn’t open his mouth once. He’ll take
whatever he can get.

After unloading from the Truck From Hell they walk a few minutes down a main street, stopping only once so that
Joonmyeon can talk to someone sitting outside of a shop. Baekhyun doesn’t pay attention to the interaction, though he
does notice, without the movement, how every single person is paired up among their group. He, obviously, is not, and
it makes him feel slightly uncomfortable. As they start walking again, he prays that it won’t be as awkward for the rest
of the day. On most days he’d rather hang out with the cat that sometimes occupies his apartment balcony, but today,
he’s kind of missing Chanyeol’s company.

Eventually they make it to the bowling alley though, which Baekhyun is pretty sure they could have driven too but he
doesn’t say anything. He just glares at the small parking lot next to the building, and then follows the rest of them in.
He’s met with the most throwback-esque tracks he’s heard in a long time, and neon lights, and the occasional sound
of a bowling ball hitting pins.

“Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun turns and finds Kris, who’s motioning for him to come and join him at the front counter. Baekhyun walks
towards him and then stands at the taller’s side, peering over his shoulder at the man working the cashier.

“What size shoe do you wear?”

“Oh, uh, an 8.” Baekhyun replies. He takes his wallet out of his pocket and begins to pull his credit card out, before
he’s stopped by Kris swatting away his hand.

“I got it.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay-”

“My treat. For being kind of...standoffish.”

“You haven’t been-”

“Yes I have.” Kris laughs a little, and then hands over his own credit card when the cashier places three pairs of shoes
onto the counter. Baekhyun peers over Kris’s shoulder again and notices that Tao is standing on his other side. Oh
right, they’re together, he thinks.

“Well, thank you.” Baekhyun eventually says, taking his own pair of shoes. Kris smiles at him, and suddenly, he looks
less...frightening.

“No problem. We’re on lane 12, down at the end.”

Baekhyun nods at him and then begins to head towards the back of the building, but he doesn’t even make it a few
steps before someone sidles up next to him. He turns and finds Tao, who’s beaming down at him.

“I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. I’m Tao.” His smile is seriously infectious, Baekhyun has no choice but to grin
back.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Baekhyun.”

“Yeah. Chanyeol talks a lot about you, you know.” Tao shrugs. “You guys actually remind me a lot of Kris and myself
when we started dating.”

“Hm?” Baekhyun asks, curious. He has no idea how he and Chanyeol relate to an actual loving couple. Tao must not
be very observant, or something

“Well, I mean, Kris and I only started dating once we were out of highschool, even though we’ve known each other
since we were five. He lived right next door to me growing up.”

“We used to fight a lot, we were always so different. Even now that we’ve been dating for awhile, we still argue, but I
wouldn’t rather be with anyone else.”

Baekhyun nearly gags at the way Tao’s eyes twinkle while talking about Kris.

“I don’t know, the way you guys bicker all the time just reminds me of us. I think you guys make a good pair though, I
can tell Chanyeol loves you a lot.”

Baekhyun stares at Tao in horror. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say. Tao just smiles at him. “Um, thanks.”

“But that’s just my opinion.” Tao shrugs. “Come on, I think Yixing is picking teams.” Baekhyun follows Tao down to the
lane, his eyebrows raising up.

“Teams?”

“Oh yeah. We don’t bowl the normal way.” Tao laughs and finds a seat, sitting down to pull his shoes on. Baekhyun
stares at them, but then finds his own seat so that he can put his shoes on. He places his actual shoes towards the
back, under a table, and then diverts his attention to Yixing because he’s standing in front of the entire group, typing
their names into the screens.

“You made the teams fair this time, right? Last time you put yourself on a team with Minseok, Jongin, and Chen and
you killed the rest of us.” Joonmyeon says. Baekhyun wonders why Yixing didn’t put his own boyfriend on his team,
but he’s beginning to figure out that Yixing is just that kind of person, so he smiles.

“Yes, I made the teams fair.” Yixing finishes entering the names and turns to the group, smiling. “Kris, Joonmyeon,
Luhan, Minseok, Chen, and Tao, you’re on Team A. Jongin, Kyungsoo, Sehun, Baekhyun, and myself are on Team B.”

Baekhyun nearly rolls his eyes. Sehun.

“Why do you never put us on the same team?” Joonmyeon pouts, though he still throws his arm over Yixing’s
shoulders when the latter comes and sits down next to him. Yixing shrugs and smiles. “It’s because you’re terrible at
bowling.”

“I am not!” Joonmyeon protests, though the snickers from every other person in the group suggest he’s lying.
Baekhyun is anxious to see how bad he actually is.

“You are though.” Sehun says, laughing at Joonmyeon. “Anyways, who’s bowling twice for our team?” Baekhyun
doesn’t know why someone needs to bowl twice, he’s actually really confused, and it doesn’t help anything when
Yixing confesses that he’s going to be the one to do it.

“What? Oh, no, I-”

“Ah, don’t argue! I want to see how good your skills are.” Yixing waves Baekhyun off, so Baekhyun just sits back in his
chair and sighs. He’s actually awful at bowling, and he’s saddened by the fact that he has to

share his skills with the group. They were just starting to like him…

“So rules for Baekhyun,” Luhan says, holding up two charts that Baekhyun hadn’t noticed before, “-we have these
charts. Each person takes a turn bowling and trying to hit a set number of pins. The first to hit all 10 pins separately
wins.”

Baekhyun doesn’t understand why they just can’t play the normal way, but he goes along with it anyways because it’s
not like anyone asked him. He just sighs and stands up, because of course his name pops up first on the board,
before making his way to the ball dispenser. He pinks up a pink ball, because it looks like the lightest, and takes a
deep breath.

“So I just aim for a specific number of pins?” he asks, confirming the game rules one last time. Chen nods at him.

“Yes. But since you’re first, you can just throw it.”

Baekhyun nods and turns back to the lane. He’s nervous, because even though the game is stupid, he doesn’t want to
let his team down. So he let’s out a huff of air and then starts walking towards the lane, swinging his arm back. He let’s
go of the ball and really, it’s travels down the lane nicely, until about halfway and then it tapers off, falling into the
gutter. Baekhyun groans as the rest of the group laughs behind him.

“I’m awful at bowling.” he confesses, walking back towards the seats. The game is setup to only allow one turn per
round, so even though he’s due to bowl twice for the team, he’s only allowed one try to make a first impression. It’s a
terrible one.

“It’s okay, so is Chanyeol.” Yixing laughs, removing himself from Joonmyeon’s side because it’s the latter's turn.
Baekhyun just sighs.

“It’s like a match made in heaven.” Jongin jokes, causing most everyone to laugh. Everyone except Baekhyun. He just
smirks, trying not to cry. Literally. He wants to cry because the world isn’t fair to him. “No, actually I think Chanyeol
might have better form.” Chen offers, high fiving Joonmyeon because the man just hit four pins. “Baekhyun, have you
ever bowled before?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun nearly scoffs. “I just...have never been very good.”

“Well, someone should have told me this before I set you up to go twice.” Yixing jokes. He stands to take his turn, and
Baekhyun glares at his back.

“I tried.” he says, trying to sound amused. Yixing just grins and takes his ball. Baekhyun watches as he hits six pins,
putting their team on the board.

It goes back and forth like that for at least 30 minutes, with each team taking their turns and talking a little smack on
each other. Tao nearly gets into a fight with Sehun, who tells him that he’s worse than Baekhyun (Baekhyun’s immune
at this point), but then Tao bowls the first strike of the game so that shuts Baekhyun’s team up pretty fast. It’s quiet for
all of two turns until Jongin bowls his own strike, and then they’re back at it again, competing to finish their charts first.
Baekhyun even manages to add the ‘5’ for their team, even though he bowls duplicates or gutters for the rest of his
turns. Thank God Jongin and Yixing are on their team, or else they’d be tanking. Kyungsoo and Sehun aren’t bad, but
they aren’t great either, and for some reason Kris and Joonmyeon turn into bowling masters three turns into the game.
Joonmyeon doesn’t let Yixing live it down until both teams only have the ‘two’ spot left open on their charts.

“We’re going to be here all day, remember the last time the ‘two’ spot was the only spot left?” Kyungsoo offers, sighing
after bowling yet another ‘three’. Baekhyun quirks his eyebrow up, curious about what took place.

“We were here for four hours, yeah.” Minseok confirms, looking just as frustrated as the rest of them. They’ve been
there for two already, and honestly, Baekhyun would rather be run over by the Truck From Hell than spend another two
hours trying to hit two freaking bowling pins. He hopes the others can relate.

“Then let’s switch it up.” Sehun sits up from his spot on the bench, addressing everyone. “Let’s pick two people to take
one more turn, and whoever hits more pins, that team wins. Losing team has to buy the beer the next time we go out.”

Baekhyun hates Sehun but suddenly he wants to kiss him. Or something. Really he just no longer wants to kill him.

“Sounds good to me. Each team gets to pick the opposing player, though.” Yixing says. He doesn’t even ask the rest
of them who they want before pointing to Luhan. Baekhyun is okay with it, though, because the guy hadn’t hit a single
spot on the chart the entire time they had been playing. His highest score was about a four.

“I’ll show you all.” Luhan says, standing up and smirking. “We want Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun sighs. Of course they do.

“Sorry, but you’re awful.” Luhan jokes, once Baekhyun has joined him in the front. Baekhyun just smiles back. He
wants to say something mean, but he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. “Rock, paper, scissors to see who goes
first!” Tao yells, motioning for them to do the dumb game. Baekhyun holds his hand out and counts to three before
throwing out scissors, trumping Luhan’s paper. He turns to his team and smiles, which receives a series of ‘thumbs
up’.

“You first, Luhan.” he tells the other man, watching as Luhan picks up a ball and sighs. He steps forward and throws it
in the lane, leaning with it once the ball starts to curve. Baekhyun holds his breath until the ball hits the pins, and only
knocks three of them down.

“Luhan!” Chen practically screams, throwing his hands up. Baekhyun’s entire team laughs. “Seriously?!” “I’m sorry, it’s
not like I wanted that to happen!” Luhan reasons, scowling and walking back to his seat. The only person that offers
him any kind of condolence is Sehun, who just simply pats his thigh and chuckles.

“Baekhyun, I swear if you don’t win this for us, I’m blackmailing Chanyeol into breaking up with you.” Yixing threatens.
If only you knew who was blackmailing who, Baekhyun thinks, though he smiles anyways. Surely he can hit four pins.

He picks up his pink ball, it’s disappointing how he’s the only one that uses it, and steps up to the lane. He throws his
arm back, walks forward, and throws the ball, watching as it travels down the lane. He holds his breath until the ball
reaches the pins, and knocks them down.

All four of them.

A chorus of cheers breaks out behind him, before he’s tackled into a hug by 4 grown men. Kyungsoo even joins in,
which Baekhyun finds odd because he still glares at him like he’s causing him physical pain just by being in his
presence. He goes with it though, and even laughs a little when Yixing ruffles his hair.
The other team looks displeased, but they don’t look mad, so Baekhyun smiles at them. The only one that flips him off
is Luhan, but eventually the man breaks out into laughter and offers him a high five. “The best of the worst won,
congratulations.” he says. Baekhyun chuckles. He’ll take the title. Once the excitement has died down the guys decide
that they want to play one last short game of ‘who can throw the ball the hardest’, or something, but Baekhyun has no
interest so he opts out. The only other one who decides not to play is Kyungsoo, so the two of them find themselves
sitting next to each other in the bar stools behind the lane. They’re far enough away from the group that they won’t be
heard, but neither of them talk until about halfway through the game.

“You’re not as bad as I had thought.” Kyungsoo blurts, after Jongin has just bowled yet another strike. Startled,
Baekhyun turns to him and scowls.

“Uh, what?”

“Chanyeol used to spend hours talking about how much he hated you. I don’t know when he gained such great acting
skills, but I always believed him so I just...hated you in my mind, you know?” Baekhyun nods. He understands.

“A part of me still thinks that you weren’t always nice to him, but I can tell how much you two care for each other now.
He looks at you like you’re his entire life.”

“I mean, I would know, he used to look at me like that. I’m just glad he finally found someone that makes him happy
again.”

Baekhyun gulps. He has no idea what to do with this information, or why Kyungsoo is even telling him this.

“Did he ever tell you why we broke up?” Baekhyun shakes his head ‘no’, and Kyungsoo chuckles. “Of course he didn’t,
the idiot. He always holds everything in.”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun finds himself saying, just for the sake of saying something. Kyungsoo smiles sadly at him.

“He wanted to run off to New York together, get eloped, buy an apartment and just... live. And I couldn’t do that. This is
home, you know? This is all I’ve ever known, I didn’t want to leave. I still don’t, honestly.” Baekhyun just stares at
Kyungsoo. He’s pretty much speechless at this point.

“I’m actually glad it didn’t work out, though. Chanyeol and I were too different. I’m happier with Jongin, and I think we
both know that. And he’s happier with you.”

Baekhyun would disagree, but…

“I really wanted to hate you. I thought this was a scam at first, but I can tell it isn’t. You and Chanyeol are good for
each other. You challenge him, something I never did, and it’s obvious that even though you guys bicker a lot, you still
love each other. You’re good for him. I’m glad he’s finally found someone, he deserves the entire world.”

Baekhyun suddenly feels like he’s going to throw up, hearing Kyungsoo’s words. Not because he can’t fathom the idea
of Chanyeol loving him, but because he can’t possibly begin to wonder what the younger’s friends and family are
going to think when the two of them ‘call it off’ in a couple of months. Baekhyun feels awful for putting Chanyeol, and in
addition his loved ones, through this entire ordeal. He wants to drown himself, honestly.

“Um, thank you.” he pauses, and takes a deep breath. “I’m, uh, going to head outside for a few minutes. It’s getting a
little stuffy in here.”

Kyungsoo just smiles and nods at him while he stands from his chair. Baekhyun doesn’t pay much attention after that,
quite literally running towards the entrance so that he can escape the choking feeling of being in the building. Once the
outside air does hit him he calms down a little, but he still has to sit down

because his legs feel like jello and his stomach is doing flips. He plops himself down on the curb and runs his hands
through his hair, shaking only a little.

He’s a monster. A horrible person. No wonder Chanyeol’s family had called him Satan, he can’t even disagree with
them anymore. He’s a terrible person that doesn’t deserve Park Chanyeol in his life, and it’s a shame that he’s just
now realizing it. But here the younger is, still helping him, and honestly it makes Baekhyun sick to his stomach.
Kyungsoo is right, Chanyeol deserves the world. Actually, he deserves the entire universe, and Baekhyun is holding
him back. Chanyeol is smart, and funny, and talented as hell (Baekhyun has heard him singing in the empty recording
rooms, and wow ), and Baekhyun has been slaving him for three years because he’s a selfish piece of ass that can’t
function without an assistant that he can order around. It’s disgusting. Baekhyun hates himself for it. He deserves to
be sent back to South Korea, jobless and lonely.

He deserves everything thrown his way, after putting Park Chanyeol through Hell and back just for his sake.

~~

They finally make it back to Chanyeol’s house around mid-afternoon, after spending nearly three hours at the bowling
alley. The group has diminished though, most of them claiming that they had things to do that prevented them from
going back. So it’s just Baekhyun, Minseok, and Chen that head back, making it slightly more awkward but definitely
less loud. Which is good because Baekhyun’s afraid he’s going to start crying at any mention of his and Chanyeol’s
relationship. Luckily he’s pulled himself mostly together when they finally reach the house, but it’s not by much.

Until he sees Chanyeol hacking away at a fucking wooden canoe with an axe in the front yard. He’s shirtless,
Baekhyun splutters for a second, and when they finally unload from the boat, it’s not hard to tell that he’s pissed.
Baekhyun turns to Minseok and Chen, his eyebrows knit together. “Is he okay?”

“He does this when he’s mad. He probably got into another argument with his dad.” Baekhyun nearly chokes when
Minseok and Chen climb back into the boat, rather quickly might he add. “I think we’ll let you handle this one. We’ll
probably see you tomorrow, though. It was fun hanging out

with you today.” Minseok offers, waving at Baekhyun who’s still standing on the dock. Baekhyun just nods back,
suddenly nervous. He watches as Chen and Minseok pull away from the dock and then speed off, basically leaving
him in the dust. He sighs and begins walking up towards the house.

Chanyeol doesn’t look like he’s going to be stopping any time soon, and he doesn’t hear him the first time Baekhyun
calls his name, so Baekhyun labels it a lost cause and heads into the house. He briefly hears Mrs. Park yelling at
someone in the living room, screaming about “never seeing him again” and “losing a son”, but Baekhyun isn’t one to
pry so his quickly runs up the stairs and finds the guest room. He’s not sure what to do with himself once he’s in it, but
he hasn’t showered yet and his hair is a little flat so he decides to take a shower.

It’s a nice shower, honestly. The water is warm. The soap smells nice. He even hums along to a little tune. The room
fogs up and creates an almost sauna-like experience, and really, Baekhyun hasn’t been this relaxed in months.
Everything is looking up, and he almost forgets about how awful of a person he is, until he shuts the shower off and
steps out to find no towels. Like, anywhere. None. There’s one tiny hand towel on the counter, but it barely dries his
forearm. Baekhyun groans.

“Of fucking course…” he mumbles, and then slowly opens the bathroom door. He expects to find a towel just sitting on
the bed or something, but again, no towel, so he groans again. He does however find fucking Brian, who’s standing on
the other side of the door and glaring at him. And then he starts barking. Baekhyun nearly rips his hair out. He needs
to go out and find something to dry off with, and he doesn’t ever remember leaving the bedroom door open. The world
hates him.

“Shut up, shut up!” he whisper-yells, shooing at the dog. Brian doesn’t move, in fact, he walks closer. He’s little as hell,
but he sort of terrifies Baekhyun.
“I’m sorry I tried to feed you to the eagle, okay. I really am. Please move.” he pleads. Brian doesn’t budge. Baekhyun
does however notice that he’s sitting on a rug, and smiles.

“Ah hah, stupid dog, I’ve got you know!” he practically cackles. He bends down and tugs on the rug, moving the dog a
little behind him. Once he finally has him in a position he likes, he grins, and then spins and sprints out of the room.
Unfortunately though, he hits a fucking wall, and toples down.

Except he doesn’t connect with a wall at all. It’s just Chanyeol, and Baekhyun soon realizes that just Chanyeol is
naked, and screams.

“What-what are you going?!”

“What am I doing?! What are you doing?!”

“Trying to find a towel!” Baekhyun is paralyzed, he can’t move. Neither can Chanyeol, apparently, because they’re both
just lying there, screaming and flailing. Eventually though Chanyeol pushes him off of

him, and scrambles for a towel (a fucking towel) that’s in the cabinet next to the bathroom. Baekhyun, clearly flustered,
rushes to the bed and wraps himself in the duvet.

“Why are you in here?! Why are you naked?!” he practically yells, horrified. Chanyeol finishes wrapping the towel
around his waist and stares at the other man, his eyes wide and ears bright red. “I was coming to take a shower, I was
just on the balcony! Why are you home?!”

“I don’t know, we got done!” Baekhyun’s not sure he’s experienced such embarrassment before. Chanyeol looks to be
in about the same state he is.

“You...I…”

“Please just go take a shower. Please.” Baekhyun pleads. He’s not sure what else to say. Chanyeol just simple nods
and then turns towards the door, opening it. But out runs fucking Brian, and Chanyeol gapes, turning back to
Baekhyun.

“That’s what you were running from? Brian? ”

“He kept barking at me!”

“He weighs five pounds!”

“He doesn’t like me!”

“Probably because you tried to feed him to a fucking eagle!” Chanyeol reasons. He doesn’t look amused though, so
Baekhyun groans and stuffs his face into a pillow.

“Leave me alone!”

“I just...wow.” And then Chanyeol slams the bathroom door. Baekhyun screams into the pillow. He doesn’t understand
why life hates him so much.

~~

Things are awkward. Baekhyun is in the bed, the covers pulled all the way up to his chin. Chanyeol is on the ground,
silent. Baekhyun wants to sleep, but every time he closes his eyes, he sees naked Chanyeol. He wants to wither
away, but then he remembers the canoe incident, and guesses it’s worth a shot. Things can’t get much worse.
“Chanyeol?”

There’s a pause, and then a grunt.

“Minseok said you were hacking away at that canoe because you got into an argument with your dad. And I noticed
you yelling at him during the party. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, that question is not in the book.” Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun rolls his eyes, because they haven’t
opened the book since the plane.

“Come on, Chanyeol. I’m just-”

“Not in the book!”

“Your dick was literally on my leg, I think we’re close enough-”

“Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun shuts his mouth, scowling. He just wants to understand.

“I’m not going to judge you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Chanyeol ignores him. Honestly, Baekhyun isn’t surprised.

“My dad just doesn’t agree with my...lifestyle.” Chanyeol eventually says, after at least 3 minutes. Now we’re getting
somewhere.

“He thought my relationship with Kyungsoo was an experiment, or whatever, and was disappointed when I brought you
home instead of a girl. He thinks it’ll taint his image or something.” “He also doesn’t like that I work in the music
industry. He says it’s an unstable paycheck and that there isn’t a future for me there. We just don’t get along.”

“Oh.” is all Baekhyun can come up with to reply with. He wasn’t expecting that.

“It’s no big deal. He’ll get over it.”

“So you’re like, 100% gay?” Baekhyun blurts before he gets the chance to stop himself. He nervously awaits the
answer, afraid he’s overstepped the boundaries.

“Bi.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun sighs. “I’m 100% gay.”

“I figured.” Chanyeol laughs, and Baekhyun smiles. “Nicole flirts with you all the time, and you never even bat an eye.
She’s not ugly.”

Baekhyun can feel his cheeks beginning to warm before Chanyeol is even done speaking. He didn’t realize he was
that obvious.

“I’m sorry I ran out of the bathroom and crashed into you.” Baekhyun finds himself saying, after a few moments of
silence.

“It’s alright.” Chanyeol replies.

“Okay.” Baekhyun sighs. “Chanyeol?”

“Yes?”
“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For...being you.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun can just imagine Chanyeol’s confused face. “Um, you’re welcome?” “Yeah.” Baekhyun’s not sure what
else to say, so he hits the curtain button and rolls over in bed. “Goodnight, Park Chanyeol.”

A few seconds pass before Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun swears he can hear his own heartbeat. “Goodnight, Byun
Baekhyun.”
Chapter 5 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21320900) : Chapter 5
Baekhyun snuggles down in his sheets, flipping over in the bed while burying his face into a pillow. He’s still half
asleep, and the faint knocking sound in his mind is preventing him from falling back asleep. He honestly just wants one
day to sleep in, without being woken up by a blaring phone or an airplane to catch. “Chanyeol? Baekhyun? Can we
come in?”

Baekhyun shoots up at that, all thoughts of sleeping in suddenly leaving his mind. He panics, and glances at the
bedroom door, where he can see shadows through the cracks. It sounds like Mrs. Park, as well as someone else, is
out there and honestly Baekhyun has no idea what to do.

“We’re coming in!” Mrs. Park says again, in a sing-song voice. That gets Baekhyun’s attention, so he grabs a pillow off
of the bed and throws it at Chanyeol, who’s still passed out on the floor. “Um, one second!” he calls back, lobbing
another pillow at Chanyeol’s head. The younger finally, finally splutters awake, and throws one of the pillows back.

“What?!” he asks, his voice cracking as he shields his eyes from the light streaming in through the windows.
Baekhyun, after he’s done holding the curtain button down, glares at Chanyeol. “Your mom’s out there! Get up here!”
he whisper-yells, scooching over in the bed. Panic flashes across Chanyeol’s face as he scrambles to get up, grabbing
his blankets and pillows before quite literally jumping into the bed. He’s shirtless, and Baekhyun is shirtless, and it’s a
little awkward but Baekhyun never settles for anything less than convincing so as soon as Chanyeol is situated,
Baekhyun pulls his arm across his shoulders and snuggles into the younger’s chest.

“What are you-” Chanyeol begins, but Baekhyun just elbows him in the gut and then smiles. “We’re ready!” he calls,
shimmying down a little. Chanyeol just sighs. Not even three seconds later the door to their bedroom opens, and in
walks Mrs. Park, Mr. Park, and Halmi. Chanyeol sighs again. Baekhyun tries not to cringe.

“Sorry to wake you.” Mrs. Park apologizes. She’s holding a tray of food, and as she sets it down on the bedside table
closest to Baekhyun, she smiles at them.

“It’s fine.” Chanyeol waves her off, even though he yawns. Baekhyun takes awhile to fully wake up most mornings, so
he just sits there and tries not to stare. Halmi notices though, and smirks at them. “Had too much fun last night, did
we?”

“Halmi!” Chanyeol shrieks, his eyes bulging. Baekhyun can practically feel his face melting off. He can’t help it when
he turns and buries his entire head into Chanyeol’s chest. He’s also fairly positive that Chanyeol doesn’t mean to bring
his hand up and pet at his hair, even though he does it anyways. It’s surprisingly soothing. Baekhyun appreciates it
because he’s certain he’s going to die of embarrassment before they can make it back home.

“What? It’s a valid question, you two look exhausted.”

“We...no. We, that’s not why.” Chanyeol mutters out. Baekhyun tries, but he can’t manage to reveal himself. Halmi will
be the death of him.

“Well, anyways,” Thank God for Mrs. Park, “-we actually came in here to offer something up to the two of you.”

That gets Baekhyun’s attention, so he sits up and faces Chanyeol’s family. Chanyeol hardly moves, just shifts his arm
so that he’s still petting Baekhyun’s hair even though he’s not on top of him anymore. Mrs. Park grins at the two of
them.

“We, all three of us, were thinking that the two of you should get married here, tomorrow.” Baekhyun stops breathing.
Chanyeol stops petting his hair. The room stills. Mrs. Park and Halmi smile at them, almost hopeful. Mr. Park looks like
he couldn’t care less, and just stands there, anticipating their answer.

“Oh.” Chanyeol squeaks out. He looks at a loss for words. Luckily Baekhyun can think pretty quickly on his feet, so he
sighs, and sits all the way up.

“Oh, no, tomorrow is Halmi’s birthday, we wouldn’t want to take away her special day.” he finally says, glancing at
Chanyeol. Chanyeol smiles and nods, visibly letting out a deep breath.

“Nonsense! This was my idea anyways.” Halmi argues, waving them off. Baekhyun opens his mouth to say something
else, but Halmi efficiently cuts him off by rolling her eyes. “I’ve had 89 other birthdays, I really don’t need another.”

“But it’s your 90th, Halmi! It’s the whole reason we came up here!” Chanyeol tries to reason. He sounds panicked;
Baekhyun can relate.

“Channy.” Mrs. Park says, smiling sadly at her son. Baekhyun has never heard anyone call Chanyeol Channy, so
really, he can’t help it when he smiles. It’s cute.

“Honey, we just want to see you get married. You guys can still have your big celebration in New York with all of your
friends, we just want to be apart of it somehow.” Mrs. Park explains. “I want to see my only son get married. I want you
two to get married in the barn, where your father and I did.” “And I want to see my only grandson get married before I
die.”

“Halmi!” Chanyeol shouts, the same time Mr. Park yells “Mom!”. Baekhyun just sits there, wide-eyed, glancing between
each person.

“Please.” Mrs. Park finally says, her eyes pleading. Baekhyun sighs. There’s no way they’re getting out of this, and
Chanyeol must realize this as well, because he deflates behind him.

“Okay.” he finally says. Baekhyun nods along with him.

“Perfect!” Mrs. Park perks up, clapping her hands together. Halmi’s grin widens. Mr. Park still looks like he doesn’t
care.

“You just leave all of the planning to us, okay? Don’t stress yourselves out.” Baekhyun wants to argue that he’s already
stressed out, but he just nods and watches as the lot of them retreat out of the room, throwing both he and Chanyeol
sly smirks. Well, not Mr. Park. The older man leaves without so much as a glance thrown in either of their directions.

He and Chanyeol sit there for a few moments, stunned into silence. Chanyeol has his head buried in his hands, while
Baekhyun simply stares at the wall across from them. He’s not sure what to say. Suddenly this whole we’re getting
married thing is real, and honestly, Baekhyun doesn’t know how to deal with it. “We’re not getting out of this.”

“Clearly.” Baekhyun sighs, shifting in the bed so that he’s facing Chanyeol.

“I better call the guys and let them know before my mom does.”

Baekhyun nods, and watches as Chanyeol gets up from the bed. He walks over to his stuff and fishes his phone out
from his bed, but before he makes his way back over to where Baekhyun is, he picks up the tray of food his mom had
brought in and balances it on his hip. He slowly walks over to the bed and sets the tray down, and then climbs in and
snuggles back up to Baekhyun side. Well, he doesn’t snuggle, but they’re touching, so that’s what Baekhyun calls it.
Usually he’d be annoyed, but he goes with it, and reaches for a muffin.

Chanyeol dials up Sehun’s number, Baekhyun rolls his eyes, and then sets his phone down on the bed. He presses
the ‘speaker’ button before taking a banana off of the tray and peeling it. “Hello?” Sehun answers, except it doesn’t
sound like Sehun, so Baekhyun scrunches his nose up. “Hey Luhan.” Chanyeol answers, and ah, that makes sense.
“Where’s Sehun?”

“In the shower. He just woke up.” Baekhyun glances at the clock, reads 11:36, and then turns back to the phone.
“Oh. Well, I just wanted to let you guys know that Baekhyun and I are getting married.” There’s a pause, where it’s
awkwardly silent, before Luhan starts talking again.

“Yeah, we know.”

“No.” Chanyeol begins, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes again because he’s honestly so stupid. “I mean, like, tomorrow.”

“What?” a voice shouts in the background. Baekhyun can tell it’s Sehun because it sounds manic. Chanyeol sighs and
runs a hand down his face, swallowing a bite of banana. Baekhyun finishes off his muffin and reaches for a cup of
coffee left on the tray.

“He’s done now, here, explain it to him because I’m getting in now.” Luhan says, and then hands the phone over to
Sehun. There’s a few seconds until Sehun gets on the line where Chanyeol just sits there and glares at his half-eaten
banana.

“I’m here. What’s this about you getting married tomorrow?”

“My mom and grandma want us to get married in the barn, tomorrow. So that they won’t miss it or something.”

There’s another bit of silence, and honestly, Baekhyun hates how dramatic these people are. “They’ve got a point. You
know if you had the wedding in New York like none of us would be able to come, right? Who’d be your best man
then?”

“I know they do. I was just letting you know.”

“Well, thanks. I’ll have to let all of the guys know so we can plan something for tonight.” Baekhyun’s eyes widen, his
arms flailing around as if trying to tell Chanyeol ‘no way’. Chanyeol just shrugs at him.

“Nothing extreme though. Baekhyun is a lightweight.”

“No I’m not!” Baekhyun practically squawks, hitting Chanyeol in the face with a pillow. Chanyeol laughs and hits him
back, only softer than Baekhyun had because he’s balancing himself on the edge of the bed. He still falls off, though,
and Baekhyun cackles, peering over to look at him.

“Yes you are! You were so drunk at the Christmas party last year, Suzy from management had to call you a cab home!
And you only had, like, two eggnog drinks.”

“They were strong!” Baekhyun argues back, throwing another pillow at him. Chanyeol catches it though, and laughs,
throwing it back. Unfortunately Baekhyun does not catch it, so it hits him in the face, causing his coffee to slosh
around. Glaring, he sets his coffee back down on the tray and crawls across the bed. Chanyeol is still on the floor,
though he’s on his knees, so when Baekhyun gets to him he’s practically eye level with

him.

“No they weren’t.” Chanyeol says, smirking. “That one time we convinced you to come out to Thirsty Thursday with us
you just ordered frozen margaritas until I had to walk you home.” Baekhyun doesn’t remember that night, but he does
remember Chanyeol teasing him about it for at least a month. He never went out with the office again.

“I had like six or seven though, so.” Baekhyun says, defending himself. Chanyeol rolls his eyes. They can still hear
Sehun walking around on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, and the bartender stopped putting alcohol in them after the third one.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen as he picks up another pillow and hits Chanyeol with it on the side of his head. “You never told
me that!”
“I thought you were aware!”

“Of course not! You saw the state I was in!” Baekhyun laughs as Chanyeol pushes him backwards. The younger picks
up the abandoned pillow and starts smacking Baekhyun with it, chuckling at the way he tries to defend himself. It isn’t
working, and Baekhyun can’t catch his breath both from laughing so hard and getting repeatedly hit in the stomach.

“Okay, clearly you guys are busy, so I’m going to go. I’ll text you later Chanyeol.”

“‘Kay!” Chanyeol calls back, distracted. He’s still hitting Baekhyun with the pillow, and neither of them know where the
phone is, so they just let Sehun hang up on his own.

Baekhyun eventually finds an out, though, so he rolls away from Chanyeol and picks up another discarded pillow. He
swings back and connects with Chanyeol’s head again, causing the younger to fall sideways. Baekhyun cackles.

“Take that, fucker!”

“Brat.” Chanyeol spits out, though he’s smirking. He stands up and throws his pillow to the side before jumping on the
bed and pushing Baekhyun backwards. Baekhyun shrieks as his pillow goes flying, and he’s about to go and retrieve it
but then Chanyeol pins his arms above his head and peers down at him. “Are you ticklish?”

Baekhyun gulps.

“No?”

“I think you’re lying.” Chanyeol smirks, and throws one of his thighs over Baekhyun’s torso so that he’s straddling him.
It’s weird, but Baekhyun isn’t going to complain because he has a straight shot of Chanyeol’s abs.

Chanyeol isn’t ugly, that’s for sure.

“I’m not.” Baekhyun protests, wiggling a little in order to try and get away. He’s unsuccessful, though, because
Chanyeol squishes him even more with his thighs and grins.

“Yes you are.” Chanyeol, quickly so that Baekhyun has no idea what he’s doing, switches both of his small wrists into
one of his hands, and then brings his free hand down to Baekhyun’s side. Baekhyun squawks.

“I’m not.” Baekhyun tries again, but the minute Chanyeol starts tickling him, he loses it. He starts laughing, wriggling
around on the bed under Chanyeol like a fish out of water. Eventually Chanyeol lets go of his wrists and uses both of
his hands to tickle him, hitting every fucking one of Baekhyun’s weak spots. Baekhyun finds himself not being able to
breath after a while.

“St-stop.” he stutters out, trying to swat Chanyeol away. Chanyeol, laughing as well, just tickles him even more.

“Can’t.” he says, smirking. “This is too funny.”

“You. Ass.” Baekhyun mumbles out, in between laughing and breaths of air. “Can’t. Breath.” “Wait, really?” Chanyeol
immediately stops tickling him, his laughter halting as he peers down at Baekhyun in concern. Baekhyun,
ever-the-actor, looks put out for about 30 seconds, before he smirks and quickly flips Chanyeol around so that he’s the
one laying on the bed. He climbs on top of him and, like Chanyeol, pins his arms down.

“No.” he smiles. “Are you ticklish?”

“No.” Chanyeol says, his face showing no kind of emotion. Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“Sure.” he mumbles, and then lets go of Chanyeol’s arms, immediately going to tickle him. He starts at his sides, but
when Chanyeol literally doesn’t move, he groans and sits back on the younger’s thighs. “Seriously? You’re no fun.”
“I told you.” Chanyeol chuckles, shrugging. “Never have been ticklish.”

“Lame.” Baekhyun sighs. He sits there on Chanyeol’s thighs and stares down at him for about a minute, while
Chanyeol looks back up, until he deems things awkward and climbs off. He stands next to the bed and coughs,
rubbing his hand up his left arm.

“Well, anyways…” He needs an out. “I’m going to go for a run.”

“A run?” Chanyeol sits up, adjusting his shorts, which had ridden up. “Since when do you run?” “I run.” Baekhyun
scoffs. He walks over to his suitcase and starts to pick things out of it, finding the only athletic clothes he thought to
bring.

“Okay.” Chanyeol says, dragging out the ‘o’. Baekhyun throws him a glare before gathering all of his things into his
arms.

“I do sometimes, before I go to work.” he begins to make his way to the bathroom. “I’m fit.” “Never said you weren’t.”
Chanyeol mumbles back. Baekhyun glances behind him when he gets to the bathroom, and doesn’t miss the blush
washing over Chanyeol’s face. He also notices how red the younger’s Yoda-ears are.

He smirks. Damn right I’m fit.

~~

So, as it turns out, Baekhyun does not run. Well, he did, way back when, but it’s been awhile so about half way
through the trail he’s panting and bending over and struggling to find the nearest tree. When he finally does find one
he leans up against it and takes a swig out of his water bottle, but he immediately spits it out because he if doesn’t
he’s almost positive that the hot water is going to make him puke. Physical activity is not his forte.

He’s about to give up and just walk back to the house because he’s exhausted and annoyed, but then he hears the
distant sound of chanting and, because he’s always curious, heads towards it. He eventually finds himself going
off-path, but he’s really not concerned considering he’s pretty sure he can see someone dancing around a fire only a
hundred or so feet away. So he continues to walk towards the scene, however upon getting there, he realizes that it’s
actually Halmi who’s the one dancing. Stunned, he hides behind a tree, and continues to watch as she chants and
prances around a fire pit.

It’s weird, and he’s kind of disturbed if he’s being honest.

“Byun Baekhyun, come forth.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen, and it takes him almost 10 seconds to realize that it was Halmi who was the one who spoke.
Which is terrifying because her back is to Baekhyun, and Baekhyun is like 99.9% sure he made no noise while walking
up.

“Well, come on boy.”

Baekhyun, still a little freaked out, comes out from behind the tree and walks towards Halmi. She eventually turns and
smiles at Baekhyun, and then gestures for him to come closer. “Um, what are you doing out here, Halmi?”

“Chanting.” she replies, still dancing around. There’s a CD player sitting on a log a few feet away, playing some kind of
ritual music that has Baekhyun feeling like he’s about to be sacrificed. “Oh. Why?”

“I’m praying to the marriage Gods for you and Chanyeol.”

“Oh, wow, that’s so sweet, but no need to-”

“Of course there’s a need. You need all the luck you can get with that boy.” Halmi turns and points at Baekhyun.
“Chant with me!”

“I actually don’t know any chants, so-”

“You don’t need to know any chants! Just chant from the heart! Whatever you feel like chanting, say it!” “No, really, it’s
okay.” Baekhyun tries to back away, slowly, but then Halmi pulls something out of her pocket. He watches her closely,
intrigued, until she fucking throws something into the fire that makes it blow up.

“I insist!”

“Wow! Okay!” Baekhyun scurries down the slight hill to where Halmi is, scared for his life. This woman is crazy, he
thinks.

“Just start chanting! Here, I’ll start you off!” Halmi starts moving around the circle, throwing her arms up and swaying
them around. Baekhyun follows.

“To the trees!”

“To the trees!” Baekhyun replies, confused because trees have nothing to do with marriage. “To the wind!”

“To the wind!”

“To the sun!”

“To the sun!”

“Your turn! What are we praising?”

Baekhyun doesn’t stop dancing around, because Halmi doesn’t, but he does take a moment to think about what he
wants to chant. The only thing that comes to his mind is Lil Jon’s song ‘Get Low’, and the entire thing is weird
anyways, so he says fuck it and goes with it.

“To the window!”

Halmi glances back at him, clearly judging him, but goes along with it.

“To the window!”

“To the wall!”

“To the wall!”

“To the sweat drop down my balls!”

Halmi doesn’t repeat it this time, just stops dancing and stares at Baekhyun. Baekhyun is into it now though, so he
ignores her and continues to sing.

“To all these bitches crawl. Crawl!” Baekhyun stops prancing, and proceeds to begin dancing. “To all skeet skeet
motherfucker! All skeet skeet God damn!”

Baekhyun has never been much of a club-goer, but he does know how to throw down some moves when he needs to,
so he channels his inner hoe and quite literally throws his ass in a circle. Halmi watches on, horrified, but Baekhyun
doesn’t seem to notice.

“Shortie crunk so fresh so clean can she fuck that! Question been harassing me in the mind this bitch is fine!”

Baekhyun moves around, mumbling along to the tune of the song because he doesn’t know the rest of the words.
Once he gets to the chorus in his mind, though, he starts dancing again, throwing his arms in the air.

“3, 6, 9, damn you’re fine move it so you can sock it to me one mo’ time! Get low, get low. To the window!”

Baekhyun, echoing himself, hollers back.

“To the window!”

“To the wall!” He throws his hands to the other side, yelling. “To the wall!”

“To the sweat drop down my balls! To all these bitches-”

“What’s going on?”

Baekhyun freezes, dropping his arms and straightening up. He slowly turns around and finds Chanyeol standing at the
top of the small hill he had come from, his arms crossed as he stares at Baekhyun. Baekhyun groans.

“Um, I’m chanting to the marriage Gods with your Halmi.”

“Chanting?”

“Yes. She uh, told me to chant whatever came to my heart.”

“Balls? Balls came to your heart?” Baekhyun glares at him. “I had no idea this type of music was your...style.”

“He’s very good at singing, isn’t he?” Halmi cuts in. Chanyeol focuses his attention on her, which gives Baekhyun
enough time to pat his hair down and smooth the wrinkles out of his shirt. He probably looks like a hot mess.

“Yes, very. Of course.” Chanyeol smirks, and then turns back to Baekhyun. “Your phone came in.” Baekhyun, having
completely forgotten about his bird-food-phone, grins.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was going to head into town and get it if you wanted to tag along. Unless you’re busy…” “I’m not!” Baekhyun
practically screams. He composes himself, though, and turns to Halmi, a pleading look in his eyes. “I can go, right?”

“Go wherever your heart takes you!”

Baekhyun takes that as a ‘get the fuck away from me’, and smiles at her. He then turns back to Chanyeol and nods,
before climbing up the hill. Chanyeol just shakes his head and begins walking back towards the house, Baekhyun
following after him like a lost puppy. He’s actually pretty embarrassed that Chanyeol found him like that, singing and
dancing around like an idiot, but he can’t do anything about it now so he doesn’t say anything. He just follows
Chanyeol back towards the property. He halts, however, when Chanyeol starts walking towards the boat, and not the
house.

“Wait. I need to change.”

“No you don’t, we’re just going into town to get your phone.”

“Yeah but...I’m wearing workout clothes.”

“So? No one’s going to care what you look like.”

“Are you saying I look bad?”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. Baekhyun scowls.

“You look fine, Baekhyun. Come on.”

“What’s got your panties twisted in a knot?” Baekhyun mutters, rolling his eyes and following after Chanyeol. He can
tell he’s not going to win this argument.

“Nothing.” Chanyeol replies back. His back is as straight as a ruler, though, and he’s scowling, so Baekhyun can tell
something is bothering him. He doesn’t think it’s worth it to pester him about it, though, so he drops it. He just follows
Chanyeol down the dock and then climbs onto the boat, taking his seat at the front next to the driver’s spot.

The ride to the mainland is silent for the most part, because every time Baekhyun tries to make conversation,
Chanyeol shuts him down. It’s so different from how the younger was acting when they woke up, and Baekhyun
wonders if the mood change is because of him. He doesn’t remember doing anything wrong, but then again Chanyeol
randomly gets annoyed with him (rightfully so, usually), so he drops it.

When they finally arrive and park, Baekhyun climbs out of the boat before Chanyeol and then makes his way to the
ladder. He’s becoming a pro at scaling it, so it really takes him no time at all to get to the top. It’s the first time he’s the
one waiting on someone, and not Chanyeol, so he smirks while he watches the younger climb up to the road. The
smirk drops off of his face, however, when Chanyeol sidles up next to him and grabs his hand.

“I-” Baekhyun begins, but Chanyeol doesn't even glance at him, so he swallows his words. Chanyeol’s hand is
becoming familiar in his, anyways, so he honestly doesn’t even mind it. He just rubs his thumb over the back of
Chanyeol’s palm, and even though it’s a simple gesture, he swears he sees the guy smile out of the corner of his eye.

They walk down the street for a couple of blocks, only stopping to greet a few people, until they come up to a small
shop that reads Park Electronics. Chanyeol leads them inside, holding the door open for Baekhyun, and then steers
him towards the back where the counter is. Surprisingly they find Chen working the counter, though he’s not really
working, because he’s actually just messing around on an iPad.

“Ah, hey boss!” he greets once he notices them, turning the iPad off and smiling at them. Baekhyun smiles back, but
Chanyeol just rolls his eyes.

“Don’t call me that.” he says, leaning against the counter. “We came to get Baek’s phone.” Baekhyun doesn’t think he’ll
ever get over the way Chanyeol calls him Baek. He’s not sure how to feel about it, but he doesn’t hate it. At all.

“Oh, right. Hold on.” Chen disappears to the back, so Baekhyun takes the time to glance around the store. It’s a basic
electronics store. There’s older versions of phones. There’s older versions of laptops. Lots of accessories. He’s
honestly not too impressed, but Sitka is in the middle of fucking nowhere, so he’s not sure what he was really
expecting.

“Found it!” he hears Chen holler, and not even five seconds later he emerges from the back room with a small box.
Baekhyun grins. He’s never been happier.

“I can get it set up for you right now if you want?” he offers, directing the question to Baekhyun. Baekhyun nods his
head ‘yes’, because he probably has around 500 missed calls and just as many voicemails, so the sooner the better.

“Okay. It’ll take a few minutes.”

“That’s fine.” he replies. He notices that Chanyeol has disappeared off to somewhere, so he walks to the front of the
store, looking around for him. He eventually finds him, except he’s not in the store anymore, and is instead outside
talking to Kyungsoo in front of the building. Baekhyun scowls and makes his way back to the counter, annoyed that
Chanyeol snuck off to talk to his ex.

“Hey, Chen.” Baekhyun says, grabbing the man’s attention. “What does Kyungsoo do? Like, where does he work?”

He doesn’t know why he asks, but he figures if Chen is working, Kyungsoo should be too. Not talking to Chanyeol. He
doesn’t understand why he’s so annoyed, but he just is and it’s bothering him. “Oh, he’s a teacher.” Of course he is,
Baekhyun thinks. “He teaches the third grade at the local elementary school. He loves it.”

Baekhyun really doesn't care if he loves it or not, he was just wondering. But apparently his question is code for ‘tell
me what everyone else does too’, because as he’s programming the phone, Chen starts ranting about the entire damn
group.

“Jongin owns the only dance studio in Sitka. He teaches classes there. He should have been a professional dancer,
but he never wanted to leave Alaska, so he just does what he can here. They go to nationals every year, though. His
kids are really good.”

“Kris is a teacher too, but he teaches at the high school. He’s like, the favorite teacher, because all of the kids think
he’s hot. Tao gets so jealous, it’s hilarious, because they’re a bunch of teenagers. He’s a nurse though. Can you
believe it? Tao a nurse...no one believed him when he said that’s what he wanted to go to school for, but he did, and
he’s the best nurse in the city in my opinion.”

“Luhan owns the music store down the street. He gives lessons too. Sometimes Kyungsoo helps him with that too.
Kyungsoo is like, crazy talented when it comes to music. But he can’t dance. It’s funny because he’s dating Jongin,
and like I said, Jongin is a God.”

Baekhyun scowls again. Of course Kyungsoo has the voice of an angel. He honestly shouldn’t have expected anything
less.

“Oh! Joonmyeon is a teacher too. There’s so many teachers. He’s in the middle school, though. I think he secretly
hates it. Yixing is a doctor though. No one expected it, but he’s insanely intelligent. He’s a surgeon, so he never works,
because almost no one needs surgery here. He just does his on-call shifts and goes home. That’s why he’s always
free.”

“Minseok works at like the tax firm, or something. Honestly none of us are really sure what he does, but he makes a
fuck ton of money so we let him be. He’s really good at math though. I don’t know, he could probably work for NASA or
something if he wanted too. He stays here and takes care of his parents, though.”

“And Sehun just kind of does whatever. He came from a wealthy family like Chanyeol, I mean so did Joonmyeon, but
Sehun uses it to his advantage. He works weird jobs, and he also teaches dance lessons at Jongin’s studio. He does
a lot of the hip hop stuff.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun says, processing all of the information. The jobs make sense. Especially Sehun’s. Figures. “I’m really
the only one from here to Anchorage that’s good with technology, so I work here. I do most of the tech stuff for the city,
too.” Chen explains. Baekhyun nods at him. “Which, by the way, I’m done.” He hands over Baekhyun’s brand new
iPhone with a smile. Baekhyun grins back at him. Thank God. “Thank you, Chen.” Baekhyun says, immediately
unlocking his phone and checking his notifications. He has 300 emails, around 60 voicemails, and countless missed
calls from varying people. He groans. “No problem.” Chen says back, grinning. “Oh, hey, Sehun called and said you
and Chanyeol are getting married tomorrow. You better be ready for tonight. He’s our first bachelor party, it’s going to
be lit.” Baekhyun openly cringes at the word ‘lit’. He wants to vomit, but instead he just smiles and nods at Chen.

“Yeah, I’m excited.” he pauses, glancing around the store. Chanyeol still isn’t back. “I’m going to go grab Chanyeol so
we can head home and I can get going on these emails, but again, thanks for doing this.” “My pleasure!” Chen waves
him off like it’s nothing. Baekhyun just smiles again and then makes his way back up front and towards the door. It
jingles when he opens up, but he ignores it, peering around for Chanyeol instead. He finds him where he found him
earlier, still talking to Kyungsoo. Baekhyun walks towards them, smiling.

“Hey! I’m done.” he says, walking up to the two. They both turn to him, and Kyungsoo smiles back, but Chanyeol
visibly sighs.
“Nice to see you, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo greets, his voice genuine.

“Yeah, you too.” Baekhyun says back, trying to be as nice as possible. He’s still annoyed, if he’s being honest, and he
doesn’t know why so he really just wants to go home.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Kyungsoo says, smiling at both Chanyeol and Baekhyun. “I guess I’ll see you both
tonight?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Chanyeol says, nodding. He smiles at Kyungsoo while the latter stalks off, walking down the street
towards wherever he’s going. Baekhyun scowls again.

“You’re still in love with him.”

“What?” Chanyeol whips around, his eyes wild. Baekhyun sighs.

“You’re still in love with him, right? Kyungsoo?”

“Where the hell did you get that idea?”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. Chanyeol is dense.

“Just the way you look at him. It’s obvious. I know he’s dating Jongin, but if you really want to be with him, I won’t hold
you back. If it’s that bad we can call this off-”

“I’m not in love with him still, okay? I was, but not anymore. He’s happier with Jongin anyways.” Baekhyun rolls his
eyes again.

“You know what they say, if someone really loves you, they’ll-”

“Shut up.” Chanyeol drawls out, clearly annoyed. “I mean, there’s a part of me that’ll probably always love Kyungsoo,
we were together for so long. But it’s been two years. I’m over him. Plus, there’s…” “There’s?” Baekhyun questions,
because Chanyeol doesn’t finish his sentence.

“Someone else. But it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t even like me, so there’s no point. Just drop it please.” Baekhyun’s
never even heard of a someone else, so he knits his eyebrows together. He thinks for a second, but no one comes to
mind. Not even someone in the office. It kind of pisses him off. “I’m sure he doesn’t-”

“Baekhyun. Drop. It.” Chanyeol grits out. He looks sad, and Baekhyun’s heart sinks. Add that to his list of ‘fuck ups’.
Title it ‘Taking Away Chanyeol’s Chance At Finding Real Love’.

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun mumbles. He doesn’t think Chanyeol hears it, though, because the younger just keeps walking.
Baekhyun sighs.

He hates himself more and more every day, it seems like.

Chapter 6 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21477170)
The first thing Baekhyun sees when he and Chanyeol, still not talking, arrive back to the commuter lot overlooking the
dock is the Truck From Hell. The second thing he sees is Joonmyeon and Yixing, propped up against it. The third thing
he sees is Sehun. He sighs, and since he really has no authority in this God forsaken city, he follows Chanyeol over to
the small group.

“Hey.” Chanyeol greets. He sounds less than enthusiastic about seeing his friends, though, and Baekhyun nearly
throws himself off of the dock’s ledge. He’s tired of making the younger sad. “Just the men we were looking for!” Yixing
all but shouts, pushing off of the truck. Joonmyeon follows, grinning at the two of them. Sehun just barely glances up
from his phone, before going back to typing out whatever he’s working on.

“Your mom sent us.” Joonmyeon explains, pulling Chanyeol into a weird bro-hug thing. It’s all very frat like, Baekhyun
honestly can’t find another way to describe it. “We’re here to collect your better half.” “Me?” Baekhyun asks, pointing to
himself. He’s pretty sure his face mocks Chanyeol’s confused one. He honestly has no idea why Mrs. Park would want
his friends to collect him.

“Yes, you.” Joonmyeon confirms. “We’re supposed to take you up to the Tuxedo Shop and get you fitted for tomorrow.”

“I-” Baekhyun’s not sure what to say. “Chanyeol and I could have done that. You guys didn’t have to come all the way
out here to take me.”

Sehun, after pocketing his phone, rolls his eyes. “Of course we did. You’re not supposed to see the other in their
outfits before the actual wedding.”

Baekhyun doesn’t argue with that, but that doesn’t mean he likes the situation. If it’s just going to be close friends and
family, he doesn’t understand why they can’t just wear, like...business clothes. He has plenty of those, and he doesn’t
even need to be fitted to wear them. If this were a real wedding, he’d want to look his absolute best, but…

“So anyways, we’re kidnapping him for awhile.” Yixing interjects, walking over and throwing an arm over Baekhyun’s
shoulders. Baekhyun throws a pleading look Chanyeol’s way, but the younger just simply shrugs.

“We’ll just meet back up with you at the bachelor party tonight.” Joonmyeon tells Chanyeol, as if he’s trying to reassure
him. Baekhyun’s almost positive the other man doesn’t care, but he really doesn’t think too much about it, choosing
instead to panic over his current clothing state.

“I’m not wearing this tonight.” Baekhyun argues suddenly, while pointing to himself. He’s still got his athletic clothes on
from his “run” and there is no way in hell he’s going out to anywhere bachelor-party worthy in them. Sehun eyes him
up and down and then snorts, obviously agreeing.

“God, I’d hope not. You can just borrow something of Luhan’s, you’re about the same size. We can stop by my place
when we’re done.”

“He’s taller than me.” Baekhyun suggests, trying his honest to God best to find an out. He just wants to go back to the
house. Sehun rolls his eyes, though, not falling for it.

“Then we’ll roll up the pant legs.” He pauses, and then waves Joonmyeon, Yixing, and Baekhyun along. “We have to
get going, your fitting appointment is in 15 minutes.”

Giving up on trying to get out of the situation, Baekhyun sighs and starts walking when Yixing pulls him along. He
throws a sad look over his shoulder towards Chanyeol, and almost feels better when the younger smiles back at him,
however it doesn’t fix the situation. Something about being poked and prodded by strangers makes him uneasy. He’d
really rather just wear a t shirt and some shorts if it means not having to spend the majority of his day with Sehun.
Unfortunately though, life hates him, so he doesn’t get much of a choice. So he goes along with it, and follows
Joonmyeon and Sehun down the street, Yixing’s arm still slung across his shoulders.

They arrive at a men’s tuxedo shop after a few minutes of walking, and no minutes of talking. It’s slightly awkward.
Baekhyun’s not sure what to do about it, though, so he just allows himself to be pulled into the shop by the three other
men. Inside, the shop smells like cologne and shoe wax, and it kind of irritates Baekhyun’s nose. Joonmyeon is
beaming though, like he couldn’t possibly imagine doing anything more fun, so he doesn’t say anything. Apparently the
mere idea of disappointing the other man is upsetting for Baekhyun.

“We’re here for a fitting, for Byun Baekhyun.” Joonmyeon explains to the lady at the front counter, a smile plastered on
his face. The lady grins back and then types something out at the computer. “Right, the soon-to-be Mr. Park, correct?”

“Mr. Byun-Park.” Baekhyun grits out, his fake smile stretched across his face. He may be gay as hell, but that doesn’t
mean he’s willing to ever lose his surname. The lady smiles at him.

“Right. My apologies.” She looks anything but apologetic. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll take you back to your area.”

Baekhyun glares at her back when she begins to walk away, wishing more than anything that his eyes were actually
lasers. Something about the lady’s fake smile and condescending tone put him off. His facial expressions get a laugh
out of Sehun, though, so he doesn’t consider it all to be horrible. At least he made the demon smile.

“Mrs. Park called and described what you were looking for,” Baekhyun has no idea what he’s looking for, “-so we went
ahead and pre-pulled some options for you. If you’d like to just try them on, and then see which one you prefer, then
we can begin tailoring it.”

“Awesome.” Yixing says, smiling and nodding at the lady, which sends her on her way. Baekhyun sighs when he’s
finally alone, or at least just with the guys, and then turns to the rack of clothing. There are three different bags
hanging on it, and already Baekhyun can tell he’s going to hate one of them.

“This one has a pattern on it.” he explains, pointing to the one with the weird swirl-like matte black pattern all over it.
“I’m not trying it on.”

“Fair enough.” Sehun nods, agreeing with Baekhyun. “This one is grey, this one is black. Which one first?”

Baekhyun, not really caring, points to the grey one. Sehun nods and takes it off of the rack, unzipping it from the bag
before handing it over to Baekhyun. Yixing and Joonmyeon have made themselves comfortable on the couch in front
of a large three-paned mirror, and Baekhyun is getting serious Say Yes To The Dress vibes from the whole ordeal, so
he scowls the entire way to the dressing room. He isn’t a bride, and he doesn’t want to be trying on tuxedos with his
fake-fiance's best friends. He doesn’t get a choice, though, like with much else, so he shuts the door to the dressing
room and plops the tuxedo down onto the chair within in. He then turns to the mirror and stares at himself, sighing.

He regrets going to Canada. He regrets lying to Mr. Killian. He regrets ever pulling Chanyeol into this mess. Chanyeol,
who’s honestly just a big puppy, and who doesn’t deserve any of the shit Baekhyun has put him through. He doesn’t
deserve the way he’s been treated in the office from Baekhyun, and he doesn’t deserve what Baekhyun has forced
him into this weekend. He deserves to produce his own, brilliant music, that’ll undoubtedly be loved by millions. He
deserves someone like Kyungsoo, who will love him endlessly. He deserves to be happy, wherever he chooses to be,
and he deserves to live his life to the fullest. He’s too good of a person to be treated the way Baekhyun’s treated him.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, deserves whatever’s coming for him. He deserves to be deported back to Korea, where
he’ll live the rest of his life out, unhappy and alone. He doesn’t deserve Chanyeol. He never did, and he doesn’t
understand how he ever thought that this situation would work out. He’s ruining lives. He’s hurting people. He’s a
terrible, horrible person that can only do harm. He-

“Baekhyun?” Joonmyeon knocks on the door, startling Baekhyun out of his thoughts. “You okay?” “Um, there’s a bow
tie.” It’s the only thing Baekhyun can think of when he looks down at the tuxedo. He hears Sehun, most likely, snort
from the other side of the dressing room.

“Yeah, it’s because you look like a prepubescent boy.”

“Ignore him.” Joonmyeon, again. “Do you need any help?”

“No.” Baekhyun sighs and tugs off his shirt. “Just, give me a few minutes.”

“No problem.” Joonmyeon replies, and then- “Mrs. Park just texted me and asked me to ask you if there was anyone
you wanted to add to the guestlist for tomorrow. Maybe some friends or family?” “No.” Baekhyun says immediately, not
even taking any time to consider it.

“She said that if travel expenses were an issue, they could take care of it. They can-” “No.” Baekhyun says again.
Even if he wanted to invite someone, there’s no one.

“Are you sure? Not even your parents?”

Baekhyun freezes. He gulps. He tremors a little.

“They’re dead.”

The rooms turns silent, and unexplainably cold, almost instantly. Baekhyun doesn’t move, he doesn’t even breath. It’s
the first time he’s said it aloud since the funeral.

“I’m sorry.” Joonmyeon finally says.

Baekhyun only nods, even though the other three can’t see him. He wants to say something, like it’s fine or thanks, but
he’s afraid that if he opens his mouth, his voice will crack and everything he’s ever wanted to say about his parents
death will come out in a watery tone. He doesn’t even realize he’s crying, silently, until he looks back into the mirror
and runs a hand through his hair. He’s a mess and he just wants to go home.

“Hey, you know what, if you want we can just tell them the black suit works and head out? Black is always the best,
anyways, and I’m sure it won’t be too hard to make simple alterations without measuring you.”

Baekhyun swallows, and then wipes at his eyes. Putting on the suitss was the last thing he wanted to do anyways, so
he’s thankful when Joonmyeon offers up the idea. However, he feels like he owes them this, so he declines the offer
and pulls himself together.

“No, it’s fine.” He pauses, picking at a loose thread on his pants. “I just...don’t really like the grey one. Can I just try on
the black one, and then have them pin it?”

“Yeah, of course. Just hand over the grey one, and I’ll give you the black one.”

Baekhyun does as he’s told, handing the grey suit over the top of the door before receiving the black one. As soon as
he gets it he places it down on the chair and then turns back to the mirror. His eyes aren’t puffy, but they’re still red, so
he rubs at them and waves his hand in front of his face. It doesn’t help, actually makes it kind of worse, so he quietly
groans and leans his head against the wall.

He wishes his mom was here for this. He could call her, and ask for her advice, and then listen while she yelled at him
for being an idiot. And then he could talk to his dad, who would try to make sense of the situation, but ultimately he’d
just sigh and wish Baekhyun the best even if he didn’t understand his motives. And then he would talk to his mom
again, who would have calmed down, and come up with a plan for Baekhyun that would undoubtedly be more sensible
than whatever he could have come up with. And then they would laugh because how did Baekhyun turn out this way.
She’d then request videos and pictures of the “wedding”, to hold over him for the rest of his life, because even if her
son was crazy she could never judge him for it. She would have been supportive and would have reassured him over
and over again that it would be okay. She wouldn’t have cared that he was breaking the law. She always just wanted
Baekhyun to be happy, nevermind that he was being unreasonable. He was always right in her eyes anyways, and
that was something Baekhyun realized too late that he took for granted.

Baekhyun realizes that he’s tearing up again, he can feel them welling at the corner of his eyes, so he sniffs and blinks
a few times before turning back to the black suit. He sighs and takes his pants off, before taking the suit out of the bag
and pulling it on, one piece at a time. It takes a few minutes, but once he eventually has it on, he turns back to the
mirror and glances at himself.

He looks ridiculous. The shoulders are too broad, and the legs are way too long and baggy. He can’t not wear it,
though, so he takes a deep breath and unlocks the dressing room door. He steps out of the small room, revealing
himself to Yixing, Joonmyeon, Sehun, and apparently the tailor. Even though he’s self conscious, and he’s pretty sure
his eyes are still red, he throws on a smile and tries to look grateful.

“I’ve seen worse.” is what Sehun says, after inspecting him. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Really, Baekhyun, you look
great.” Joonmyeon smiles. Yixing gives him a thumbs up. The tailor just nods and smiles, and then walks over to him
with a box of pins in her hand.

“I’m just going to pin it, and then you can take it off, okay?”

Baekhyun nods. He doesn’t say anything as the tailor comes forward and begins to work her magic, pinning all of the
areas that need work. And there are a lot of them. Apparently she’s brilliant at her job, or whatever, because she only
spends about 10 minutes working before she tells Baekhyun he can go change back, but to just be careful of the pins.
Which he is, especially because it takes him 5 minutes just to get the jacket off. Eventually he gets dressed in his
actual clothes, though, and leaves the suit in the dressing room in order to join everyone else up at the front.

“The guys sent in their measurements earlier this morning, so they’re pulling all of their rentals right now. It’ll probably
take about 15 minutes or so.” Joonmyeon explains when he rejoins the group at the entrance. Baekhyun nods, but
he’s beginning to feel stuffy in the small store, so he points towards the door.

“In that case, I’m going to head outside.” he says. Joonmyeon just smiles at him so Baekhyun takes that as an ‘ok’ and
heads outside, walking down the sidewalk a bit until he comes up on another dock. There’s a sign in front of it that
says ‘No Trespassing’, but Baekhyun spots a nice, large rock that would be perfect for sitting on, so he says fuck it
and heads under the chain. He comes up on the rock and plops himself down on it,

pulling his knees up so that he can rest his chin on them.

He thinks about Chanyeol. Wonders whether the younger is currently being forced into his own suit, back at the house.
If he’s thinking the same things Baekhyun is, like how he’s too good for Baekhyun, or how he’s being screwed over.
Baekhyun wouldn’t blame him. He agrees.

Realizing this, for at least the fifth time, Baekhyun groans and buries his face into his hands. He doesn’t lift it back up
until he’s startled by another body sitting down next to his.

“Having second thoughts?” Sehun asks, and Baekhyun wants to glare at him, but really he just can’t muster up the
courage. Instead he just sighs and stares out at the ocean before him. He spends a few minutes watching the waves
roll into the dock, before turning and looking at Sehun, knitting his eyebrows together.

“I miss my mom and dad.”

“Oh.” Sehun replies, clearly taken aback. “Um, what happened to them? If you don’t mind telling me.” Baekhyun
doesn’t know why, but he feels safe telling Sehun. Like he knows that the other man would never tell another person.
He takes a deep breath.
“A car accident.” he laughs bitterly. “It’s so cliche. Parents die, leaving two young boys in their wake. Oldest boy takes
on all of the responsibility, turns out fine. Youngest boy turns out bitter and angry and resents the world.”

Sehun doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Baekhyun tries to real himself back in, not sure where the sudden
outburst came from. He’s never talked about how his parent’s death affected him before. “Where’s your brother?”

“In Florida. We both left Korea after the accident. I don’t really have any desire to ever go back.” “Do you talk to him?”

Baekhyun shrugs. “Yeah. But I don’t think he would...approve of my situation right now.” “He’s not okay with you being
gay?”

“Something like that.” Baekhyun chuckles a little, though it comes out sad. Somehow his brother being labeled
homophobic is better than telling Sehun the truth.

A few more minutes pass by. Baekhyun watches as a small fishing boat pulls into the dock. The man driving it glances
over at the two of them sitting on the rocks, but all he does is smile and then go on his way. “I just wish they were here
to tell me I’m doing the right thing. To reassure me that I’m not fucking everything up.”

“So you are having second thoughts.” Sehun drawls out, though it doesn’t sound mocking or humorous at all. He
sounds serious and maybe that’s what causes Baekhyun to break.

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun whispers. He can feel the heat rising in his cheeks as a single tear runs down his face.

“Do you love Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun turns to Sehun, not even worrying about his current state. The latter raises a questioning eyebrow in
Baekhyun’s direction. Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say.

He doesn’t love Chanyeol; Baekhyun knows this. But he likes the way Chanyeol’s ears turn red when he’s
embarrassed. And he likes the way Chanyeol remembers small details about him, as if he’ll be tested on the older at
any given moment. He likes Chanyeol’s smile, the way it lights up his entire face and how it stretches, literally, from
ear to ear. He likes the way he always smells his food a good amount before taking the first bite. He even likes the way
Chanyeol quietly snores when he’s dead to the world, how he can’t be woken up without physical force. Baekhyun
likes all of this about Park Chanyeol, and he’s positive that if given enough time, he could come up with a mile long list
about things he finds he likes about the younger.

And then it dawns on him: Baekhyun doesn’t love Park Chanyeol. How could he possibly love someone he’s never
seen in a romantic light? He doesn’t love Chanyeol, but he thinks the potential to love him is there. And once he’s
realized that, it terrifies him.

“I, um, need to go.”

“What?” Sehun asks, but before he even has the word out of his mouth, Baekhyun is up and off the rock, quite literally
running towards their dock. He can see it in the distance, only about a hundred yards away, so he picks up his speed
and sets his focus on the boat. He’s not even sure whose boat it is, but he’s coming for it.

He needs to get out of Sitka. He needs to go somewhere, anywhere, but he just needs to get away from Park
Chanyeol and everything and everyone that reminds him of him. So as soon as Baekhyun reaches the boat, he hops
on, and fires it up and begins shifting gears.

“What are you doing?!” Sehun screeches, leaping onto the boat just as it backs up quickly. Baekhyun has no idea what
he’s doing, but he shifts a few more gears until he somehow has the boat in a driving setting. He pulls off and heads
for the horizon, because honestly he could end up in Russia and he wouldn’t even care. Sehun tries to tug him off of
the wheel, but Baekhyun just elbows him, and continues to steer. “Where the fuck are you going?! Baekhyun, calm
down!”

“I need to get out of here!” Baekhyun simply yells back, the wind picking up as the boat goes faster. It’s becoming
harder to see, and hear, but Baekhyun doesn’t back down, just fights Sehun off of him while trying to keep the boat
from crashing into something. They’re not even that far off from the coast, and Baekhyun supposes he looks insane,
but he doesn’t care. He has to get out.

“Seriously, Baekhyun, we’re going to hit something and we’re wasting gas! Give me the wheel!” Baekhyun doesn’t
want to back down, so he fights Sehun again, but somehow Sehun gains some strength, because the next thing he
knows, Baekhyun is being hip checked from the wheel. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that Sehun
has to take a hard right to avoid hitting a buoy, which causes Baekhyun to lose his balance. And because he loses his
balance, his feet fly up from underneath him, and he goes flying, literally, into the water.

The first thing he notices is how cold the water is. Like, bone-chilling cold. The second thing he notices is that he still
cannot swim, and that he’s drowning, and that he very well may die from being thrown off of a boat. Which causes him
to panic, and flap his arms around until somehow, miraculously, he breaks the surface of the water and can breath
again. It’s then that he notices Sehun turning the boat around and heading back towards him, looking just as panicked
and horrified.

“Hold on!” Sehun yells out and Baekhyun isn’t really sure what he needs to do, so he just continues to flail around until
the boat pulls up to him and Sehun holds a hand out. Baekhyun takes it, shakily, and does absolutely nothing as
Sehun pulls him back up into the boat and onto a bench. He’s immediately handed a towel, and the jacket Sehun had
been wearing, before he’s engulfed into a hug by the latter.

“What in the hell is wrong with you?” Sehun asks, exasperated though he doesn’t sound mad. “I-i-i-i c-c-can’t
sw-i-i-im.”

“Clearly.” Sehun says, rubbing his hands up and down Baekhyun’s arms. “Why would you drive off like that?”

“N-n-needed to g-g-get-t a-a-away.” Baekhyun can’t control his chattering, and he’s shaking so hard that he curls into
Sehun and whimpers a little. Fuck his pride. He’s cold and he feels like he’s freezing to death and he really just wants
to curl up and cry. Which, he actually thinks he’s crying, but he can’t tell for sure because he can’t feel anything within
his body.

“Don’t move, I’m going to drive us back to the dock, and we’re going to go to my house and get you some clothes.”
Sehun let’s go of Baekhyun and goes over to the wheel, putting the boat back into gear and then pulling back towards
the mainland. He glances back at Baekhyun occasionally, though, making sure the latter is okay. Baekhyun just sits
there and shivers. He can’t do much else.

When they pull back up to the dock and the boat has been turned off, Baekhyun moves to get up, but Sehun doesn’t
give him the chance to before he lifts him off of his seat and begins to carry him bridal style. Baekhyun, annoyed, rolls
his eyes.

“I can walk.” he mumbles, his chattering having mostly stopped even though he still can’t feel his arms. “Look, I don’t
know what you are to my best friend anymore, but I know he cares for you, and I’m not having you die on my watch.”
Sehun explains, giving Baekhyun no room for an argument. “‘M not gonna die.” Baekhyun replies, though he doesn’t
press it any further. He just leans his head on Sehun’s chest and lets himself be carried through the streets of Sitka.
Luckily there are virtually no people out and about, so by the time they come up on a small neighborhood, they haven’t
run into anyone. Sehun’s house is one of the first ones on the street, too. Baekhyun is thankful for that. He’s not sure
what he would have done had someone, or God forbid one of the guys, saw him like this.

“Look, just sit here, don’t move, I’m going to get you some clothes.” Sehun says once they’re in the house, and after
he’s placed Baekhyun on the couch. Baekhyun just nods and curls into the back of the couch, really not giving a damn
that he’s getting it all wet. It’s warm, and that’s all he cares about.

“Sehun?” a voice calls out, catching Sehun off guard, yet barely phasing Baekhyun. Baekhyun watches as Luhan
walks in from what he assumes is the kitchen, looking bewildered. “What the hell?” “I thought you were at the grocery
store?” Sehun asks, running a hand through his hair. Luhan gives him a look.

“Yeah, but not for three hours.” Luhan says, walking over to where Baekhyun is curled up. He sits down next to him
and places a hand on his cheek, immediately pulling it back once he realizes how cold it is. Baekhyun doesn’t even
flinch.

“Why is he all wet and cold?”

“He fell into the water.” Sehun explains, not offering much of an explanation. “I’m going to go get him some clothes, I’ll
be back.”

Baekhyun watches as Sehun takes off up the stairs to fetch him some clothes, and then turns to Luhan, who’s staring
at him. He tries to offer a smile, but his mouth really isn’t working, so he just shivers and tries to sit up.

“No, lay down, don’t sit up.” Luhan grabs the quilt that’s draped over the back of the couch and throws it over
Baekhyun, tucking it all up under him. “What happened?”

“I, um, fell off of the boat.” Baekhyun doesn’t want to say anything else, so he simply shrugs, and leaves it at that.
Luhan sighs.

“Did Sehun do something to you?”

“No!” Baekhyun is quick to answer, sitting up a little more. “No. He saved me.”

Luhan just bites his lip, nodding his head. Sehun arrives a few moments after with a stack of clothes in his hands. He
motions for Baekhyun to follow him, so Baekhyun shakily climbs off of the couch and trails after the other man until
they come up to a bathroom. Sehun hands him the clothes, which Baekhyun takes thankfully and then makes his way
into the bathroom. He shuts the door behind him and quickly undresses himself, slipping on the dry and warm clothes
and wrapping the quilt back around his entire body. He doesn’t know what to do with his wet clothes, but he doesn’t
think Sehun would appreciate having them continue to drip all around the house, so he drapes them over the sink and
then opens the bathroom door back up. Sehun is still standing there, so Baekhyun just smiles at him, and then makes
his way back to the couch.

Once he’s sat back down, burrowed into the cushions and pillows, Luhan brings him a cup of something that’s
steaming and smells nice. Baekhyun takes a sip and finds that it’s tea, and that it instantly helps to warm him up.

“Thanks.” he mumbles, holding the mug close to his face. Luhan smiles and nods in response. “Do you want me to call
Chanyeol?” Sehun asks him, sitting down next to him on the couch. He sits closer than Baekhyun ever thought he
would, but the added body heat helps. Luhan sits down on his other side, still looking incredibly concerned. Baekhyun
sighs.

“No.” he mutters, shaking his head. That’s the last thing he wants. Sehun just stares at him. “Look.” he begins, and
Baekhyun prepares himself for a lecture. “I don’t know what’s going on here. I thought I did, but clearly I don’t.”

“I’m surprised Chanyeol hasn’t left you yet.”

Baekhyun’s eyes bug out of his head. Luhan makes a disapproving noise and glares at Sehun from over Baekhyun’s
head. He wraps his arms around Baekhyun’s smaller frame, almost protectively, and Sehun rolls his eyes at them.
Baekhyun isn’t used to so much physical contact, but it’s kind of nice. He leans his head on Luhan’s chest and revels
in the warmth his body brings.
“He...that’s how he loves. He leaves the things he loves, whether it’s because he thinks he’s not good enough to stick
around or because he thinks both parties deserve better. It’s just what he does.” “I don’t know how him and Kyungsoo
lasted so long. That whole relationship was weird. But he left, because he realized it was best for the both of them.
And he left home, his parents, because he thought everyone would be happier without him.”

“So I don’t know how the fuck he’s stuck around with you for two years, no matter how long you’ve been dating or
whatever. If something makes him, or the people around him, unhappy, and he thinks he’s part of the reason, then he
leaves. No questions asked. He’s always done it.”

“But with you? God, he used to complain everyday about you. Every. Day. He used to tell me how much he hated your
guts. He would tell me that he wished you would get run over by the subway.” Baekhyun shivers. Luhan runs a hand
down his arm.

“I don’t really know how long this thing between the two of you has been going on, and to be honest, I don’t even know
if I believe that there’s even really a thing going on between you two. Officially. But the fact that he’s stuck with you for
so long? He cares about you a whole lot. He doesn’t stick around unless you’re someone special.”

“I don’t know what happened on the boat, but to me, it’s seems like you’re wanting to dip out of this. And honestly, I’ll
kill you before you do that.”

Sehun looks serious, and Baekhyun gulps. He has no idea what’s going on.

“Chanyeol looks at you like the sun shines out of your ass. Whenever you’re not looking, he smiles at you and it’s kind
of disgusting. He’s like the real life heart-eye emoji. He spent like an hour the other night just ranting about how much
he loves you, and how sorry he was to keep you from us, and how much he wants us to like you. And I hate to admit it,
but I do like you.”

“You make him happy, whether you believe that or not. This is the happiest I’ve seen him in awhile. He laughs again,
and he smiles more.”

“And I think the biggest thing is that you got him to come back here again. I never thought I’d see him again, unless I
drug my ass to New York.”

Baekhyun notices the tears welling up in Sehun’s eyes, and that’s when he knows things are serious. He’s having a
hard time grasping the words Sehun is saying.

“I didn’t think anyone could get him to come back, especially if his mom and Halmi couldn’t. But he was so excited to
bring you home and introduce you to everyone. He loves you, okay? So, just...if you’re thinking about leaving, please,
don’t. I don’t know what your relationship with him is, but he needs you. And I think you need him too. Just,
please...stay.”

Sehun finishes, and sniffles a little. Baekhyun stays frozen in his spot. Even if he did want to say something, he’s not
sure what he would.

“So that’s my speech. I’m going to take a shower now, because I smell like the ocean.” Sehun stands up and nods in
Baekhyun’s direction. He smiles at him and Luhan, and then quickly makes his way up the stairs, practically silent.
Baekhyun watches him go, and only turns back around when he’s is out of sight.

He stares at the wall for a few minutes, still trying to get warm, until Luhan breaks him out of his trance. He pats his
arm, so Baekhyun turns and looks at him, glancing up at the man.

“Hm?”

“You’re not actually with Chanyeol, are you?”

Baekhyun finds no point in hiding it anymore, because he’s pretty sure even if he denied it, Luhan wouldn’t believe
him. So he shakes his head and then ducks down, waiting for Luhan to yell at him. Instead, Luhan brushes
Baekhyun’s bangs back from where they’re stuck on his forehead.

“I figured.” Luhan pauses, dropping his hand back down. “But what Sehun said, that’s all true. Chanyeol doesn’t stick
around just for anybody.”

“I don’t love him.” Baekhyun mutters. “But...I think I could. In the future.”

Luhan smiles down at him, nodding.

“I don’t know what you guys are doing here, but, I think the same goes for Chanyeol.” “Really?” Baekhyun doesn’t
want to sound hopeful, but, well, he is.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Baekhyun just nods and smiles, and then turns back around and leans his head back down on Luhan’s chest.

Good, he thinks. That’s good.

~~

Baekhyun must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing he knows, he’s being shaken awake by Sehun, who’s
dressed in nice clothing and has his hair all styled.

“Hey. We’re leaving in, like, 5 minutes.”

Baekhyun sits up, flustered, remembering where he is and why he’s there. He glances around and finds Luhan
buckling a watch onto his wrist, looking equally as nice as Sehun. He glances down at himself and groans,
remembering the bachelor party plans.

“I brought down some different clothes, unless you want to go like that.” Sehun says. He points to a pile of clothes on
the end of the couch, and Baekhyun feels kind of bad for dirtying up so many pieces of clothing that aren’t his, but he
certainly isn’t leaving the house in too-big sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and mismatched socks. He just smiles and stands
up, grabbing the clothes and making his way back into the bathroom. He notices that his own clothes are gone, and
wonders where they are all while pulling on the other clothes Sehun picked out. It’s a pair of jeans, a nice button up
shirt, and some shoes that are only a size too big. He doesn’t look half bad when he’s done brushing through his hair.

“Thanks.” Baekhyun mumbles after he re emerges, holding the dirty clothes. Sehun takes them and tosses them onto
the stairs, which cause Luhan to roll his eyes. Baekhyun smiles at them. “So we’re just meeting them at some bar. I
don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that, but I figured you would want to know.” Sehun says. He grabs a pair of
keys off of the coffee table in front of the couch and then starts walking towards the front door. Luhan trails after him,
so Baekhyun trails after him, and before he knows it they’re standing in front of a nice car in the driveway that
Baekhyun hadn’t noticed before. “Yeah. Thanks.” Baekhyun manages to say. Sehun nods at him and then walks to the
driver’s side door, whereas Luhan gets into the passenger side. Baekhyun takes that as his cue to get in the back, so
he does, and promptly buckles himself in before Sehun pulls out of the driveway.

They drive for about 10 minutes, the radio playing softly in the background while no one really talks. Baekhyun spends
the time waking himself up, because despite his eventful day so far, he’s sure the guys have something outrageous
planned for the night. Especially because none of them know that he had almost died only a couple of hours earlier. Or
at least, he hopes no one knows. The day has definitely changed his view on Sehun, and even Luhan, so he’s 99.9%
sure they told no one about the incident.

So, yeah, he’s in for a wild night.

Except, when they pull up and get out of the car, the first thing that happens is that Chanyeol literally runs up to
Baekhyun and pulls him into his arms, squeezing him tight. Baekhyun, startled and a little confused, just stands there
and lets himself be manhandled. Eventually Chanyeol pulls away, but he immediately places his hands on Baekhyun’s
cheeks, and stares down at the older. That .1% Baekhyun wasn’t sure about? It’s come true.

“Are you okay? You had me scared half to death, Sehun called me and said you fell into the water, and you can’t
swim, but he said that if I tried to come over he would shoot me, and I didn’t know what-” “I’m fine.” Baekhyun cuts him
off, laughing a little. Chanyeol frowns at him.

“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny. What if you had died?”

“I didn’t, though. Everything is fine. It was just an accident, all I had to do was warm up again.” “What were you even
doing on the boat that caused you to flip out?” Chanyeol removes his hands from Baekhyun’s cheeks, but then he
wraps them around the older again, placing his chin on Baekhyun’s head. Baekhyun chuckles a little, and this time
wraps his own arms around Chanyeol.

“It’s a long story. I’m fine though, okay? Perfectly fine.”

Chanyeol just sighs, squeezes Baekhyun one more time, and then lets him go. He stares down at him though, and
Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“Come on, let’s go inside so your friends don’t think we’ve abandoned them.” Baekhyun reaches down and tangles his
and Chanyeol’s fingers together, for appearances, and then tugs the younger towards the door. Chanyeol follows,
reluctantly, but grumbles the entire way.

“I’d rather just take you home, and wrap you in bubble wrap, and never let you leave again.” Baekhyun ignores him,
rolling his eyes while he snakes his way into the bar. He doesn’t know where everyone else is, and Chanyeol had ran
from the outside, so he figures the younger doesn’t have any clue either. But then he hears a collective holler, and
looks over, and there they are, taking up the entire back area. He plasters a smile across his face and tugs Chanyeol
over, genuinely happy to see the crew. “Finally! I thought you guys left us!” Chen yells, and it’s clear he’s had a few
already. Baekhyun wonders how long they’ve been in the bar while he returns the hug the latter forces on him.
“Chanyeol wanted to, I convinced him to stay.” Baekhyun explains, laughing. Chen abandons him and goes to
Chanyeol, whacking him on the chest.

“You can have sex with him later, stay and have fun with us for right now!”

“Wow, okay, Minseok, why’d you let him have this much already?” Chanyeol swats Chen away and glances towards
Minseok, his eyes wide. Minseok laughs and shrugs like it’s nothing. “Whatever, Chen is always drunk before
everyone else, but look, we have presents!” Tao screeches, holding up two bags with colorful tissue paper. He looks
half-plastered himself, and Baekhyun laughs. Chanyeol drags him over to the bags though, because their hands are
still linked, so Baekhyun has no choice but to accept the ‘present’. He’s nervous when he’s handed it, and rightfully so,
because when he opens it he finds a sash and a tiara that both read ‘Bring To Be!’. Chanyeol’s says the same thing,
except his set is purple instead of bright pink.

“No.” Baekhyun says, looking back up at Tao. Tao just smirks and nods.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Put it on.”

“No.”

“I will force it on you.” Tao doesn’t look like he’s kidding, so Baekhyun sighs, let’s go of Chanyeol’s hand, and puts the
accessories on. Chanyeol does the same and they look ridiculous, but Baekhyun can’t complain, it’s funny.

“Beautiful! Now get together, I need a picture!” Chen shouts, walking over with his phone out. He puts his drink down
and holds the phone up, motioning for them to pose. Baekhyun doesn’t know what to do, but luckily he doesn’t have to
do anything, because Chanyeol pulls him to his side and kisses his cheek right as Chen takes the picture. Baekhyun
obviously blushes, and is clearly flustered, but when Chen shows them the picture, he can’t deny that it’s cute.
Chanyeol even demands that Chen sends it to him, and when he does, he immediately sets it as both his home and
lock screen photo.

Baekhyun doesn’t know what to do with himself after that, so he turns to Luhan, the only one who understands, and
asks where the drinks are. Luhan laughs and tells him that Joonmyeon has just ordered the first round of shots, and
they’re on their way.

Baekhyun, however, has never had a Kamikaze shot, so when the waiter brings the tray out, he’s a little stunned. If he
goes out, which is almost never, he gets fruity shit. If he really wants to get fucked up, he just takes straight vodka
shots with lime and sometimes salt, if he’s really feeling it, but that’s almost never. Like, it’s happened maybe twice.
The shots on the tray? They look like they might kill him. He’s nervous. It’s named the Kamikaze shot.

He takes one, though, because he’s not going to be the bore of the party. Which, it seems like everyone has the same
idea, because there’s not a single one left on the tray when it’s done being passed around. “To Chanyeol and
Baekhyun!” Yixing holds his shot up, and it’s tacky and oh-so-cringe-worthy, but they all make the toast, and then
down the shot. A few cough, Kyungsoo shakes his head as he chokes it down, Tao leans back and lets out a holler.
Baekhyun? Baekhyun spits it back into the shot glass and turns to wipe his mouth on Chanyeol’s shirt.

“Fuck no, what was that?” he splutters, wiping his tongue on the fabric and not giving a damn what anyone thinks
about him. Chanyeol only laughs, not trying to back away.

“Vodka and Triple Sec!” Kris tells him, who’s standing on his other side. The entire group is laughing at him, and he
should be embarrassed, but honestly he’s more concerned with getting the taste of straight up ass out of his mouth.

“Well it’s fucking horrible.” he coughs out, pulling away from Chanyeol. Chen is on the floor, he’s laughing so hard.
Minseok has to take his beer out of his hand so it doesn’t spill.

“Want a margarita?” Chanyeol asks him. Baekhyun can’t tell if he’s being serious or not, but he doesn’t care.

“Hell yes I do. Don’t buy me any more of those.”

Chanyeol laughs again, as does most everyone else, but Baekhyun is being dead serious. He’d rather die than have
to taste another Kamikaze ever again.

“Fine, fine. I’ll be back.” Chanyeol abandons Baekhyun’s side to go and get him his margarita, that is, until Joonmyeon
stops him.

“I’ve got it.”

“What? No, you-”

“I’m buying everything tonight.” Joonmyeon tells him. Chanyeol tries to protest, but Joonmyeon waves him off, rolling
his eyes while he walks up to the bar. Baekhyun doesn’t really care who pays, as long as it isn’t him.

Joonmyeon eventually comes back with his margarita, though, and that’s really when the night begins. He doesn’t
order another round of shots for a while, but he does keep the pitchers of beer coming, and even orders a literal keg at
one point. It’s gone within 10 minutes, and honestly Baekhyun doesn’t understand how the lot of them can even drink
so much. By 11:00 p.m. he’s only on his second margarita, but he isn’t trying to get drunk because he does have to get
married in the morning. He supposes the rest of them, aside from Chanyeol, aren’t concerned. He wouldn’t be either if
he were them.

By midnight at least half of them are plastered, including Chen, Tao, Kyungsoo, Minseok, Luhan, and Joonmyeon. It’s
hilarious because Chen, despite his efforts, keeps falling asleep in random booths that are unoccupied at the time, and
Kyungsoo is so handsy even Baekhyun is afraid for Jongin. The poor guy looks so flustered every time Kyungsoo
comes onto him. Baekhyun tries not to laugh, but really, Kyungsoo still reminds him of a penguin. It’s hilarious.

Minseok spends most of the night hanging off of Joonmyeon, who’s just as drunk, if not more. The two sing random
songs at random times, to random people, and there really aren’t that many people in the bar, but every time they go
up to some poor old man who’s peacefully playing pool, and start belting out a Beyonce track, Baekhyun can’t help
himself. He dies. Figuratively, but also almost literally, because he chokes on his laughter. Tao almost dies too, but he
has an excuse. After the fifth shot he’s done for and has to rely on the support of Kris to keep him upright. Granted
he’s had around four beers, but good God, he’s more of a lightweight than Baekhyun imagined.

Luhan though, Luhan is a special case. Sehun looks like he couldn’t be happier taking care of him, but really, the guy
is just fucking hilarious. He spends half of the night googling pick up lines to use on Sehun, and the other half trying to
convince the bar attendant to set up the karaoke machine in the back. He finally convinces the girl around 12:45, so by
1:00, it’s set up and ready to be used. Of course he’s the first in line, and he does a surprisingly well rendition of
Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood, which has Sehun wide eyed. Baekhyun finds it amusing. Even Kris laughs,
who’s gone unbearably silent the more intoxicated he gets.

By the time Luhan is done with his karaoke turn everyone wants to try, so they line up, and start picking their songs.
Minseok and Joonmyeon duet on It’s Raining Men, and then Tao gets up and delivers a tear jerking remix of
Wonderwall, dedicated to Kris. It doesn’t make any sense, and that’s what’s so great about it.

Between Tao’s solo and Chen’s turn, Joonmyeon order’s more shots. He orders a round of Buttery Nipples and
Baekhyun actually likes Bailey’s Irish Cream so he takes one and surprisingly is able to stomach it in one go. He’s
tipsy, but not yet drunk, so he orders another margarita. Chanyeol watches him the entire time, while sipping on his
fancy beer.

Chen belts out, in the best voice of the night Baekhyun doesn’t know how, his version of Losing My Religion. He
doesn’t know half of the words, but somehow makes it sound decent. Baekhyun didn’t know he had it in him. And then,
somehow, he drags Kris up onto the stage, and has him sing/rap Lil Wayne’s How To Love. Tao looks enamored
during the entire thing, and the two of them disappear for awhile afterwards. Baekhyun ignores it. He isn’t one to
judge.

Jongin goes next, but only because Kyungsoo forces him to. He looks nervous, and Baekhyun assumes he’s going to
dance to something because he thought that’s what he did, but he actually gets up there and sings along to Sweet
Caroline. He has a nice voice, Baekhyun will admit. And then Kyungsoo gets up there and blows everyone out of the
water with Wrecking Ball, and everyone needs another shot after that because they’re literally shook. Baekhyun is
drunk enough to use the word.

Except the bartender cuts Luhan, and Minseok, and Chen, and Joonmyeon, and Kyungsoo off. He would have cut Tao
off, too, but he and Kris are still gone, doing who knows what. It turns out to be fine, though, because Chen is on the
floor counting the squares in the carpet pattern, and Luhan is at a table shaking a glass of water back and forth singing
“I got that good good I got that got that good good”, and Kyungsoo is busy feeling up Jongin’s calf. So Joonmyeon only
has to convince the poor guy to give him and Minseok another shot, because “Minseok is my favorite tonight”. It’s
funny because Yixing about loses it at that, and then he and Joonmyeon disappear for awhile, but not before
Joonmyeon flicks his credit card at Chanyeol. Chanyeol takes it happily.

After that their karaoke stunt begins again, this time with Minseok, who forces Kyungsoo back onto the stage with him.
They do My Ear’s Candy and Baekhyun spills his entire margarita down his shirt from laughing so hard. Chanyeol has
to buy him another one. Chen claps and then passes out on the floor, which is probably the funniest part. Minseok gets
done and comes to lay down next to him, and promptly passes out on top of him. Chanyeol and Baekhyun decided to
leave them, because they aren’t in the way and they aren’t disturbing anyone. It’s the best place for them.

It’s then that Tao and Kris reemerge, looking disheveled like no other and announcing that they’re going to head home.
Jongin overhears them and decides that he should probably take Kyungsoo home too, before he climbs down his
pants in public or something. So Chanyeol and Baekhyun bid them goodbye, and then watch as they drag themselves
out of the bar, all parts a hot mess.

“You know, we should probably get going soon too.” Chanyeol announces, leaning into Baekhyun. They haven’t left
each other’s sides the entire night, whether that be standing next to each other, or sitting next to each other, or in one
instance, sitting on top of each other. The booth was crowded, and, well, it was either sit on Chanyeol’s lap for
Baekhyun or stand, and his legs were tired, so sit on his lap it was.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired.” Baekhyun says, and as if on cue, he yawns. Chanyeol smiles at him. “No!” they suddenly hear
from across the room, and when they turn, they find Luhan screaming at them. Sehun, who’s significantly more drunk
than he was 30 minutes ago, is propped up in a booth, trying

his best to corral his boyfriend from 15 feet away.

“You need to sing a song before you leave!”

“Oh, no, that’s okay.” Baekhyun tries to reason, really not wanting to sing. He’s tipsy, nothing good will come out of it.

“You’re not leaving until you do! Come on!” Luhan screams, holding the two microphones in his hands. Neither
Chanyeol or Baekhyun move. Luhan rolls his eyes.

“Chanbaek! Chanbaek! Chanbaek!”

“What is he saying?” Baekhyun asks, looking around. He’s embarrassed, people are staring. Chanyeol laughs.

“I’m pretty that’s our names combined?”

“Why is he saying that?”

“Because he wants us to duet? Come on, let’s just do one song and get it over with.” Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol,
but he sets his drink down anyways. He might as well, especially if Luhan is being this way. He follows Chanyeol up to
their little makeshift stage and takes a microphone from Luhan, who smirks at him, and then begins to mess with the
controls. Baekhyun watches him, and apparently they don’t get to choose their song, because before either of them
say anything, Luhan hits play and scurries his way on over to Sehun. He sits down next to his boyfriend and gives the
other two a big thumbs up. Baekhyun glares at him.

And then the instrumental starts.

And Baekhyun glares harder.

And Chanyeol belts out the first lyric.

“Summer lovin’, had me a blaaassssttt!”

Baekhyun can’t help himself.

“Summer lovin’, happened so faasssstttt!”

“I met a BOY crazy for me!”

“I met a boy, cute as can be!”

“Summer days, drifting away to oh oh the summer nights!”

“Tell me more tell me more! Did you get very far?!” Luhan screams from the booth, cupping his hands around his
mouth. Chanyeol laughs so hard his misses the next line, and from there on out, the song is a mess, although they still
manage to make it sound decent. Not studio-worthy by any means, but they can sing. Together. Baekhyun likes it. By
the time they’re done everyone still left in the bar is clapping, and Chen has woken up, and he’s crying for some
reason but Baekhyun goes with it and gives him a hug anyways.

“We were good.” Chanyeol tells Baekhyun, after they’ve convinced Sehun and Luhan to take Chen and Minseok home
with them in the cab they’ve called. Luhan is mad because it means “we can’t have sex!”, but Sehun looks so tired that
Baekhyun is almost positive that sex wasn’t going to happen anyways.

“Yeah, we were.” Baekhyun agrees, smiling up at the younger. “You have a nice voice.” “I didn’t know you could sing.
Most good producers can’t.” Chanyeol tells him like it’s nothing, shrugging. They’re walking towards the bar now, to go
take care of the bill, because Chanyeol still has the credit card. Joonmyeon and Yixing haven’t been found.

“Thanks.” Baekhyun replies after a couple of seconds. He can feel the blush forming on his face, and he hates that the
alcohol makes it worse. Chanyeol grins at him, but then turns to the bartender, who’s made his way over to them.

“Calling it a night?”

“Yes sir.” Chanyeol says, and hands over the card. Baekhyun nearly chokes when he sees that it’s a NatWest Black
MasterCard.

“I’ll just have you sign this, Mr. Park.” the bartender says, handing the receipt over to Chanyeol. Baekhyun watches,
until it dawns on him that Chanyeol is signing and-

“You paid for everything!” he hits Chanyeol’s arm, effectively messing up his signature, but he doesn’t care. Chanyeol
just finishes writing it and then hands the paper back over, rolling his eyes at Baekhyun. “Not all of it. Joonmyeon paid
at the beginning, I just switched the tab to my name later on.” “Why?” Baekhyun asks, still in awe of the Black Card.
He’s pretty sure only super fucking rich people have those.

“Because.” Chanyeol shrugs. “Are you ready to go?”

Baekhyun realizes Chanyeol isn’t going to confess, so he rolls his eyes, but nods anyways. Chanyeol just smiles at
him and then waves his hand at Luhan and Sehun, catching their attention. The two of them are trying to drag Minseok
and Chen to the front of the bar, and it really isn’t working, but it’s too funny for Baekhyun to intervene. Chanyeol
apparently feels the same way.

“We’re going to head out. Are you sure you’ve got them?”

“Yes!” Luhan calls, waving Chanyeol off. Baekhyun doesn’t really feel good about leaving them, though. They are
pretty drunk.

“Should we stay until the cab gets here?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s already here.” Chanyeol says. He reaches down and grabs Baekhyun’s hand, tugging him towards
the exit. The other four are finally making their way out the door, and sure enough, the cab is waiting outside.
Chanyeol leads Baekhyun out of the bar and over to the car, and then motions for the driver to roll the window down.
He does, and Chanyeol smiles at him, pointing to the drunken crew.

“Hey, Rudy.” he greets, and Baekhyun is glad at least Chanyeol knows him. “Just take them back to Sehun and
Luhan’s place. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Rudy replies, watching as the four others pile into the car. “Hey, good luck tomorrow.” It’s clear as day
that Chanyeol blushes, which causes Baekhyun to bite his lip and smile, even though it means that the entire damn
city knows about the wedding.

“Thanks.” Chanyeol mumbles, and then waves at the man. He then begins tugging at Baekhyun’s hand again, and
starts leading him down the sidewalk of the street, leaving the other four in the dust. Baekhyun isn’t sure where they’re
going, until they come up on the dock, and are met with a boat.

“Are you okay to drive?” Baekhyun asks, as Chanyeol leads him down the ladder to the actual deck. Chanyeol nods at
him, holding his waist as Baekhyun climbs down the last few pegs. Baekhyun tries to ignore the physical contact, and
how there’s no one around but them, but it’s hard. His mind keeps going back to his conversation with Luhan, and
everything is so confusing that jumping back into the freezing water and drowning himself sounds slightly more
appealing.

“I’m fine.” Chanyeol reassures him, once they’re both standing on the deck. Baekhyun really didn’t pay attention to
how much Chanyeol actually drank, but he trusts his judgement. He’s a big boy. “Okay.” Baekhyun mumbles, and then
follows Chanyeol onto the boat. He takes the seat next to the drivers spot this time, while Chanyeol stands behind the
wheel. Chanyeol flicks a flew lights on before he starts the boat up, and then pulls out of the spot. He starts driving
towards the house, the waves supplying a comfortable silence while the wind whips at their hair. Baekhyun curls up in
his chair and stares out at the distance. He’s come to find the ocean peaceful since he’s been in Sitka, which he’s
thankful for. Despite all of his troubles, it really is a beautiful city.

They arrive home after around 10 minutes, and once Chanyeol has the boat parked, Baekhyun hops off. He waits for
Chanyeol to do the same, and then they both walk up to the house, not holding hands but standing close together. It’s
cold out, and Baekhyun appreciates the body heat radiating off of Chanyeol. He still really hasn’t recovered from
almost freezing to death.

Once they’re in the house they waste no time before making their way up to the room. Baekhyun hadn’t realized how
tired he actually was, but now that he’s within familiar walls, he concludes that he’s actually exhausted. As soon as he
gets into the room he walks over to his bags and begins to undress, not caring that Chanyeol is there. He throws his,
or rather Luhan’s, dirty clothes into a pile by one of his suitcases, and then pulls out a large t shirt. He doesn’t even
bother with pants. He just makes his way over to the bed and climbs up onto it, snuggling down into the covers. He
doesn’t notice Chanyeol staring at him until he goes to press the curtain button.

“What?” he asks, yawning. Chanyeol bites his lip.

“You’re wearing my shirt.”

Baekhyun looks down, and sure enough, he’s wearing a Sitka High t shirt. No wonder it was so big. “Oh. Sorry. Must
have gotten thrown over on my stuff.” he mumbles, though he has no intention of taking it off. Chanyeol just nods and
then turns to his own luggage, pulling out some pajamas. He gets dressed right there, and Baekhyun tries not to
watch, but the curve of Chanyeol’s back muscles have him in a trance. He only stops staring when Chanyeol grabs his
blanket and begins to lay down on the floor. “Wait.” Baekhyun says, sitting straight up in the bed. He’s not sure what
makes him do it, but he bites his lip and points to the other side of the bed anyways. “You can, um, sleep up here. If
you want. The ground has got to be getting old.”

Chanyeol stares at him for a moment, Baekhyun will never understand how things go from comfortable to awkward in
only a few seconds, and then nods. He places his pillow on his now-side of the bed, and Baekhyun scooches over,
giving him a little bit of room. He lays down and covers his body up with the comforter, before turning over to face the
wall and shutting his eyes.

He realizes, though, that his mind won’t be letting him sleep any time soon, so he turns back over and faces Chanyeol.
The younger has his eyes closed, but Baekhyun is positive he isn’t asleep. “I was overwhelmed.” Baekhyun drawls
out, sighing. Chanyeol opens his eyes, slowly, and lifts a questioning eyebrow.

“At the tuxedo shop. I freaked out, and got on the boat, and Sehun tried to get me to stop, and that’s how I fell off.”

“Why did you freak out?” Chanyeol shifts his pillow under his head, but really, it just brings him closer to Baekhyun.
Baekhyun shrugs.

“Because we’re getting married tomorrow, for real, and it’s overwhelming and I feel like I’m letting you down.”

“Why would you think that?” Chanyeol looks honest to God concerned, like he doesn’t understand. Baekhyun rolls his
eyes.

“Because I’m putting you through all of this. You don’t deserve this. You deserve the world, and…” Baekhyun trails off.
He’s tired and he doesn’t know how to explain himself.

“You keep forgetting that I agreed to this. We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to help you.” Baekhyun nods. He knows
this, but it doesn’t make him feel any better.

“Why did you even agree to this anyways?” Baekhyun asks. He expects Chanyeol to tell him it’s because of the
promotion, or something, but instead Chanyeol just smiles.

“You’re my boss.”

Somehow, Baekhyun detects the hidden confession within Chanyeol’s words, and he flushes. He buries his face in his
pillow and tries to hold back his smile.

“You know, I think my parents would have liked you.” he mumbles, after a few moments of silence. Chanyeol doesn’t
reply for awhile, so Baekhyun just listens to him breathe. It’s soothing. “Yeah?” he eventually says, and Baekhyun can
hear the smile as he speaks. He nods. “Yeah. I think so.”

Chanyeol doesn’t ask any questions, which Baekhyun is thankful for.

“Well, I’d hope so.”

Baekhyun smiles again into his pillow. His face is probably bright red, so he doesn’t lift it, just lets the words die out.
Neither of them say anything else. Baekhyun just closes his eyes, and lets himself relax into his the bed. He’s almost
asleep when he feels a hand grip his own beneath the cover. He grins, though he doesn’t open his eyes, just
squeezes Chanyeol’s hand back.

He let’s Chanyeol’s thumb brushing over his own and his quiet breathing lull him to sleep, the same grin still plastered
on his lips.
Chapter 7 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21696383) : Chapter 7
Baekhyun doesn’t wake up peacefully on most mornings. He splutters, and pats around for his glasses, and wipes the
drool away from his mouth, and just generally looks unappealing. And unfortunately for him, on the morning of his
wedding, it’s no different. Except instead of being woken up by an alarm clock, he’s hit in the face with a ray of
sunshine streaming in through the opened curtains.

“Sorry, honey.” a voice says, which has Baekhyun sitting up immediately, peering around the room. He notices almost
instantly that Chanyeol is missing, and then he finds that the person speaking to him had actually been Mrs. Park. He
grabs his glasses off of the bedside table and puts them on before zeroing in on Mrs. Park, squinting.

“Huh?” is all he manages, half asleep and confused. Mrs. Park beams at him.

“I hate to wake you so early, but we have to get a head start on the day! The service is at three.” Oh. Right, he’s
getting married. Baekhyun sighs.

“It’s fine.” Baekhyun croaks out, his voice rough from sleep. He’s still confused as to where Chanyeol is, though, so he
points to the other side of the bed and clears his throat.

“Um, where’s-”

“Chanyeol? Oh, I had to come detangle him from you earlier this morning. You two can’t see each other before the
wedding!” Mrs. Park laughs, shaking her head. “It was like peeling a leech off of someone.” Baekhyun’s face flushes
immediately, embarrassed that Mrs. Park caught them like that. The last thing he remembers is falling asleep to
Chanyeol’s thumb brushing over his. He usually isn’t a cuddly sleeper, but, well…

“Sorry.”

“No, no, don’t apologize. I’m just glad the boy is getting some sleep.” Mrs. Park looks thoughtful for a second, and then
motions for Baekhyun to get up. “I’ve made breakfast for you, and then you need to start getting ready. We have a
long day ahead of us! Come now!”

Baekhyun’s still in his boxers and Chanyeol’s t shirt, but he doesn’t want to keep Mrs. Park waiting, so he climbs off of
the bed. However he does need pants, so he grabs the first pair of sweatpants he finds and quickly pulls them on.
Unfortunately, though, they’re Chanyeol’s, which means they’re way too big on him. Mrs. Park notices and chuckles
lightly, but she doesn’t say anything. Baekhyun is embarrassed enough so he’s thankful. He just follows her out of the
room and down the stairs, rolling the pants four times over and brushing a hand through his hair.

The first thing Baekhyun notices when they enter the kitchen is the large breakfast set out on the table. The second
thing he notices is Luhan, who’s chowing down on a piece of sausage. He doesn’t look like he’s in any better of a state
than Baekhyun is, although he is wearing sunglasses and has his hair in a beanie. Baekhyun smirks.

“Good morning.” Baekhyun greets, sitting down in the seat next to him. Luhan glances up, nods, and then looks back
down, taking a piece of cantaloupe from the plate in front of him and stuffing it in his mouth. Baekhyun tries his best
not to laugh. If Luhan is this bad, Baekhyun wonders how the rest of them are. Chen is probably dead.

“Luhan here said he was going to be your honorary best man.” Mrs. Park explains, handing Baekhyun a plate.
Baekhyun takes it and smiles at her, before setting it down and promptly filling it with a few pancakes and some eggs.
He hasn’t had a home cooked breakfast in awhile, so he’s actually pretty excited.

“Oh?” he says, pouring syrup all over his pancakes. Luhan gives him a disgusted look and then nods, turning his head
a little.

“Ya.” he mutters, swallowing his bite. “The rest of your guys will be here soon.”
“My guys?” Baekhyun honestly has no idea what he’s talking about. Luhan stares at the wall for a moment, apparently
gathering his thoughts, and then nods again.

“Ya. We split up. You get me, Tao, Chen, Jongin, and Joonmyeon.”

Baekhyun is actually pretty touched that they were all willing to be with him for the day and not Chanyeol, especially
since they’ve only just met him a couple of days ago. He’s thankful, because he really doesn’t have anyone else. He
tries to hide his smile in the glass of juice Mrs. Park has just handed him, but

Luhan catches it. He smiles back and then turns back to his food, eating some more fruit. “Although I don’t know how
much help Tao, Chen, and Joonmyeon are going to be. Chen woke up this morning and didn’t remember anything
past, like, midnight.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen at that, because they were at the bar way past midnight, and a lot happened within that time
frame. But he supposes it’s understandable. Chen was just having fun. They sit in silence for awhile after that, eating
their breakfast and waking up the best they can. Mrs. Park bustles around them, mostly cooking, and Baekhyun
assumes all of the food is for later on, but by the third tray of crab cake puffs, he has to ask.

“Mrs. Park?” he says, catching her attention once the last tray is filled. She looks up and smiles at him, wiping her
hands off on her apron. “Why are you making so much food?”

“For the reception, silly.” She rearranges the trays so that they sit on the island better, and then turns back to the
cabinet and pulls out more ingredients. “It came too soon to hire a caterer, so Halmi and I are making all of the dishes.”

Baekhyun stares in horror at the stack of meat Mrs. Park pulls out of the fridge. She sets it down on the counter top
and then turns to her spice rack, reaching for almost all of them and then setting them next to the mound of beef.

“You really didn’t have to-”

“Oh, Byun Baekhyun, of course I did!” Mrs. Park pauses, and then shoos in both Baekhyun and Luhan’s direction.
“Now, you two, finish up and head upstairs. I don’t want anyone to be late today.” Baekhyun takes that as his cue and
nods, gathering up his dirty dishes and taking them to the sink. He’s not sure where to put them, so he simply rinses
them off and then sets them in the sink. Luhan is slow to follow, but eventually he makes his way over and does the
same, before walking towards the stairs. Baekhyun trails after him until they come up on the guest room, which Luhan
usher Baekhyun in, before closing the door behind them.

“We have to camp out here for the day. And you can’t leave unless you’re accompanied by someone, just in case you
see Chanyeol.”

“You know it’s not a real-”

“Real wedding for you two, yes, I know. But it is for everyone else, so like, just go along with it.” Luhan finishes, and
then walks over to the bed. He flops down on it and reaches for the remote, turning on the TV that’s mounted on the
wall and flipping through the channels. Baekhyun honestly has no idea what he has to do to ‘get ready’, so he just
takes a seat in the window seat and peers out the window.

It takes him a few minutes to notice it, but once he does, he turns to Luhan with a bewildered look on his face and
points out the window.

“Why is there a big ass tent in the front yard?”

“For the reception.” Luhan shrugs, his focus mainly on the Tiny Houses episode playing on the TV. Baekhyun sighs.

“They’re going all out…” he mumbles, leaning back against the wall and staring out the window. He can’t really make
out what’s underneath the tent, but there are a few people bustling about, carrying flower arrangements and different
colored chairs.

“Well of course.” Luhan sits up and mutes the TV. “It’s their only sons wedding, as far as they know, of course they’re
going to go all out.”

Baekhyun is aware of this, he’s been beating himself up over it for the past two days, so he just sighs and nods.

“So don’t, like, say anything about it being too much to anyone, especially Mrs. Park or Halmi. They want it to be
perfect for you guys, okay?”

“I won’t.” Baekhyun mumbles, understanding. They’re going to all this trouble for them when they don’t have to, he
doesn’t want them to, but he’s not going to directly tell them to stop. The comment during breakfast was a slip up, he’ll
admit. He understands that this is a big deal for them. He already hates himself for taking the real opportunity away
from them, for at least the time being, but Chanyeol’s voice in the back of his mind keeps reminding him that they
wouldn’t be here if Chanyeol didn’t want to, so he drops it. No use in arguing it anymore.

They don’t say much after that, Luhan just un-mutes the TV and continues watching his show, occasionally making a
comment about how ‘that tile doesn’t match with that backdrop’ or how ‘that paint color looks horrible with the window
pane color’. Baekhyun doesn’t honestly pay him much attention, just continues to stare out the window and watch as
the people pass by. At one point he thinks he sees Chanyeol pass by, but he’s not really sure. The only person he
actually recognizes is Chen, and when he does spot him, he gives himself about 5 more minutes of peace because
after his conversation with Luhan at breakfast, he knows he’s about to spend the majority of his day with the loud man.

He’s right, too, because no more than 10 minutes later Chen barges through the bedroom door with Tao and Jongin
hot on his heels. It startles both Baekhyun and Luhan, who collectively jump up in surprise, finding the other three
staring at them with bags in their hands.

“Good morning!” Chen calls, and Baekhyun makes a face because it’s already 11:00. Luhan snickers at him, and then
the two of them watch while the other three make themselves comfortable in the room. They set their bags down on
whatever cleared space they can find, and then Chen and Tao promptly fall onto the bed, while Jongin smiles at
Baekhyun and joins him on the window seat. Baekhyun hasn’t talked to him much at all really, so it’s a little awkward,
but he smiles back.

“Ready for your big day?” Jongin asks, leaning back into the window. Baekhyun shrugs, and throws on his best smile,
feigning happiness.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” he replies. Jongin nods like he understands and laughs a little, before nodding towards the
other three on the bed.

“We saw Chanyeol on our way up. He said he’s excited, if that makes you feel any better.” Apparently Baekhyun isn’t
very good at hiding how fucking terrified he is, because Jongin gives him a knowing smile. Baekhyun just sighs and
grins back, nodding.

“Me too.” he mumbles, playing with his thumbs. He hopes it comes off as nervousness, even though he really just
wants to break down. He’s not terrified for the wedding or anything, he’s more terrified of the future. He’s scared about
what’s going to happen when they get back to New York, when they’re back in the office and life has to go back to
normal. He’s scared for the interview with Mr. Killian, and he’s scared of what’s going to happen when they ‘call things
off’ and have to break the news to everyone. He supposes that all husbands-to-be are terrified on their wedding day,
but really, he thinks his case is special.

Despite the room being filled with young men that are normally not-so-quiet, the room is almost silent, the only sound
being that of when someone moves or messes around on their phone. Baekhyun chalks it up as the lot of them, minus
himself and probably Jongin, being extremely hungover. He can see the bags under Chen’s eyes, and Tao groans
every now and again when he shifts his position. The glee he gets from watching the others suffer takes his mind off of
everything else that’s going on. Everything is okay, really, until there’s a knock on the door, and Joonmyeon walks in.
He looks about as rough as everyone else, but he’s holding clothing sacks that Baekhyun assumes has the suits in
them, so he sighs.

And so it begins.

“Hey.” Joonmyeon croaks out, setting the bags down on the edge of the bed. “Just picked those up. Mrs. Park says we
need to start getting ready.”

“Why?” Tao sits up, holding his forehead and squinting. “The wedding doesn’t start until 3. It’s not even noon yet.”

“I don’t know, I didn’t question her. But we should probably do what she says since she’s in charge.” Joonmyeon plops
himself down on the floor in front of the bed and he really doesn’t look like he has any intention of following through
with his words, but Baekhyun doesn’t mention it. He just sits there and watches as the rest of them groan and flail
around and then eventually stand up, grabbing their respective bags and dumping the contents out on the bed.

Baekhyun figures he should probably partake as well, since they’re only here for him, so he stands up from the
window seat and carefully makes his way over to the bed, making sure to step over Joonmyeon when he gets to him.
He peers at all of the things littering the bed and draws his eyebrows up questioningly, turning to look at Chen.

“What’s all this for?”

“Hair products. Mrs. Park said she really liked you, but she will not have your hair looking like a bird's nest for your
wedding.”

Baekhyun blushes at the mention of Mrs. Park liking him, but then quickly sobers up after realizing she had compared
his hair to a bird’s nest.

“I can do my own hair without products.” Baekhyun argues, scowling at the various tubes and bottles on the bed. He
even notices makeup, a stick of eyeliner and some powder, and shakes his head. “I’m not wearing makeup.”

“Mrs. Park said a little wouldn’t hurt. Tao is a diva, so he can do it for you. Your hair, too.” Chen explains. Baekhyun
just continues to shake his head.

“I’m not a diva.” Tao replies, his voice sharp. “But I can do it for you. It’ll look fine, and I bet Chanyeol will like it.”

“I bet he won’t.” Baekhyun glares. “No way.”

“Baekhyun.” Luhan says quietly, side-eyeing him. Baekhyun remembers their conversation from earlier and sighs. He
agreed to fancy flowers and lots of food, not makeup and elaborate hair styles. “If it looks bad, or if you hate it a lot,
we’ll take it off.” Joonmyeon says from the floor. “Just give it a try.” Baekhyun considers this for a second, and then
deflates.

“Fine.”

“Great!” Chen claps, and then shuffles his way over to the cabinet that holds the towels and other bathroom products.
He pulls a towel out and throws it Baekhyun’s way, and then gestures towards the bathroom.

“Grab some clothes and go take a shower. I can tell you didn’t last night, you smell like a bar.” “Thanks.” Baekhyun
mutters, but does as he’s told anyways. He’s quickly running out of clean clothes, and Joonmyeon is sprawled out on
the floor next to all of his stuff anyways, so he decides to head towards Chanyeol’s luggage instead. He pulls out a t
shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, and then grabs his own boxers, before making his way into the bathroom. Chen
just simply smiles at him and closes the door after him, leaving him to it.

He takes a long shower. Well, not long enough that it sparks concern from the others, but long enough that his fingers
and toes crinkle from the water. He only shuts it off because Tao bangs on the door and shouts that he has to pee. He
has to dress himself quickly, and as soon as he opens the door up, Tao pushes past him and slams the door right back
in his face. Baekhyun can’t help but laugh as he throws his dirty clothes into his suitcase and the towel in the bin by
the door.

“You look like a 12 year old boy in Chanyeol’s clothes.” he hears Chen say from behind him, which causes the others
to snicker. Baekhyun rolls his eyes but smiles, because yeah, he is swimming in them. He turns and finds the lot of
them, now including Tao, all staring at him, so he smirks and shrugs his shoulders.

“They’re comfy.” he can’t even lie about it. Chen just nods like he understands, and then ushers Baekhyun over to the
bed. They’ve made a little makeshift hair station and make him sit down in it, before Tao plops himself down in front of
him and grabs something. Baekhyun takes note of how everyone else occupies themselves with something else,
whether it be clothes or shoes or in Joonmyeon’s case, sleeping against the bedpost.

“I’m going to dry your hair, okay?” Tao asks, plugging a blow dryer into the wall next to them. Baekhyun only nods. He
doesn’t really care what they do to him at this point.

Tao gets to work on his hair, brushing through it and running the blow dryer over it multiple times. Baekhyun’s hair is
naturally fluffy, so he isn’t surprised when he peers over at the mirror and finds that he practically has an afro by the
time Tao is done. Tao laughs at him, as does Chen and even Jongin, but Baekhyun doesn’t pay much attention to
them. He just watches as Tao brings out a straightener and another, more rounded brush. He starts twisting and
twirling at his hair, and then straightens some parts of it. It takes him about 45 minutes in total, but really, it only feels
like 10 in Baekhyun’s mind. He’s more preoccupied with watching the others bustle about, setting suits out and
polishing shoes and trying to wake Joonmyeon up. It’s relatively quiet, though, the only background sound being that
of some music playing from Jongin’s phone. Baekhyun has no idea who it is, but he enjoys it. The only interruption that
comes is when a knock sounds at the door, right as Tao is putting the finishing touches on what he calls Baekhyun’s
’quiff’.

“Come in, unless you’re Chanyeol! Then don’t!” Chen calls out. The door opens and Baekhyun is expecting Mrs. Park
or one of the other guys or even Halmi, but it’s none of them. Instead Chanyeol’s dad, Mr. Park, walks in, and gives
everyone in the room a small smile.

“I was wondering if I could steal Baekhyun from you all for a moment?”

The room is quiet for a few seconds, until Joonmyeon, who’s magically woken up, jumps up from the floor and grins.

“Of course! We actually need to go downstairs and see about lunch, anyways.” He doesn’t even say anything to the
other guys, they all just stop what they’re going and make their way out of the room, throwing Baekhyun questioning
glances as they go. Baekhyun has no idea what’s going on, he’s nervous if he’s being honest, so he just sits there,
frozen, until the door closes behind Joonmyeon and he’s left alone with Mr. Park.

“Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to talk to you before the wedding.” Mr. Park explains. Baekhyun doesn’t know if he
should stand up, and bow, or say something, but luckily Mr. Park makes the decision for him when he walks over and
sits down next to him on the bed. Up close, Baekhyun realizes how small the

man actually is, and wonders where Chanyeol got his height from. His sister isn’t even all that tall. It’s kind of weird.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Baekhyun, when you first got here, I was livid.”

Baekhyun doesn’t breath, actually, for an entire minute. He’s preparing himself for a lecture on how worthless he is
instead.

“My family has...an image to keep. We’ve been very lucky to earn what we have, but it’s taken hard work and
dedication from everyone. So naturally, it’s understandable for me to hate the man that’s kept my son away for so long,
when he should be here, taking over the family business.”

“My son thinks I’m homophobic, though I’m not. I want him to be happy. I want him to lead a successful life. And in
today’s world, it’s not easy to be both happy and successful when in a gay relationship. Especially in Korean culture.”

“I was merely looking out for him, though I suppose I came at it the wrong way.” Mr. Park sighs, and Baekhyun gulps,
trying his best to keep his composure. “My son has...thrown us for a loop. This is something I never suspected from
him. I thought after Kyungsoo, he would...I don’t know. Realize what he really needs.” There it is, Baekhyun thinks. Mr.
Park hates him. Baekhyun hates himself, too.

“Except, after seeing you two the past couple of days, I realized I was the one that needed to open my eyes.”

Baekhyun’s head shoots up, staring straight at Mr. Park. Mr. Park sighs, chuckling a little while he shakes his head.
Baekhyun has had too many of these conversations the past few days, he’s beginning to go crazy. “My son is happy. I
don’t know how, especially because you treat him like, excuse my words, but shit at the office, but he’s very happy
with you. I’ve never seen him like this. And after my argument with him, I realized that this is real. This isn’t a fantasy
that I can convince him out of. He loves you and his job and New York, and it’s taken me this long to finally accept it,
but I am happy for him.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, Baekhyun processing what the fuck is happening, Mr. Park gathering the rest of
his words. When Baekhyun looks back up again, Mr. Park has tears in his eyes, and honestly, that breaks his heart.

“I am. I truly am happy for my son, and no matter my previous opinions on you, I am happy that you’re the one
marrying him. I’ve never seen him so in love.” Baekhyun has to keep himself from screaming. “Thank you for making
him happy again.”

“I-” Baekhyun croaks out. He doesn’t realize his eyes are wet until he tries to talk, and the sound his throat makes
snaps him out of his daze.

“I know you two don’t need it, because Chanyeol has never listened to me anyways, but you have my blessing. To
marry my son.”

Baekhyun can only nod, while he sniffles and stands with Mr. Park. Even if he did want to say something, he wouldn’t
be able to, because Mr. Park pulls him into a hug and pats his back. “I’m proud to now call you my son, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun just about loses it at that. He doesn’t mean to squeeze Mr. Park back so tightly, but luckily the latter doesn’t
do anything but smile at him when he lets go.

“I have to go tell my son all of this, now. But I wanted you to be the first to hear it.” Mr. Park gives him a small smile,
nodding once. “Also, your hair looks nice.”

Baekhyun can’t help the watery laugh he lets out as he watches Mr. Park go. He’s still laughing quietly when the older
man shuts the door behind him, and Baekhyun is pretty sure it’s only because he’s in a hysterical state. Mr. Park,
mean old Mr. fucking Park just gave him his blessing to fucking marry Park fucking Chanyeol and Baekhyun doesn’t
know how to feel about it. He slowly sits back down on the bed and stares at the mirror in front of him, thankful to all
Hell that they hadn’t done his makeup yet because he can’t help the tears that are streaming down his face. He hasn’t
cried this much in he can’t even remember how long, and normally he would be embarrassed, but for some reason he
isn’t. He’s not even phased when the others loudly bang their way back into the room.

“Hey, so- Why are you crying?” Chen sets the drinks he has in his hands down on the dresser and quickly walks over
to Baekhyun, concern written all over his face. Baekhyun is glad he’s concerned, and not making fun of him, but he
actually only wants one person.

“Where’s Luhan?”
“Downstairs talking to Halmi, why? What happened?”

“Can you go get him?” Baekhyun asks, ignoring the question. The tears aren’t stopping and he feels like a reality TV
personnel on one of those bridal shows, but really he doesn’t care because he’s beginning to have trouble breathing
and his vision is blurred.

“Hey, calm down, we’ll get him.” Chen sets his hands on Baekhyun’s thighs and then turns to Tao, nodding his head in
the direction of the door. Tao gets it immediately and takes off in search for Luhan, not saying a word.

“Did he say something to you? Do I need to get Chanyeol?”

“No, don’t.” Baekhyun chokes out. The last thing he wants is for Chanyeol to have to come consol him. He just needs
Luhan and for everyone else to leave.

As if on cue Luhan appears in the doorway, looking out of breath but totally concerned. One look in Baekhyun’s
direction and he’s telling everyone else to get out and go occupy themselves with something else for awhile.
Thankfully they all comply and within seconds it’s just Baekhyun and Luhan in the quiet room.

“What did he say?” Luhan crouches down in front of Baekhyun and, like Chen, places his hands on Baekhyun’s thighs.
It’s surprisingly comforting so Baekhyun lets it slide.

“He gave me his blessing.”

“Oh.” Luhan sighs, nodding as if he understands. Baekhyun suspects he actually does. “Anything else?” “He called me
his son.”

“Oh, geeze.” Luhan breathes out, sighing. He pats Baekhyun’s thigh and then stands up, before sitting next to
Baekhyun and throwing his arm around his shoulder. “That’s a lot, coming from Mr. Park.” “He said that Chanyeol
thinks he’s homophobic, but he isn’t, he just wants the best for him and he thought that marrying me would make
things hard for him but now he understands, whatever that means, and he thinks Chanyeol is happy and he likes me,
Luhan, Mr. Park fucking likes me.” Baekhyun rambles, not even taking a breath. He leans his head on Luhan’s
shoulder when he’s done and lets out a quiet, pathetic sob. Luhan sighs.

“Usually I would say that that’s a good thing, but I can see why this is a problem.”

“He’s going to tell Chanyeol the same thing right now and when Chanyeol finds out he’s going to hate me because I
did this and-”

That gets a chuckle out of Luhan, so Baekhyun lifts his head and glares at him.

“This is a good thing, even though it happened on the terms of a fake relationship.” Luhan explains. “Chanyeol’s dad is
finally accepting him, and I think that’s really the only thing the kid wants. Plus, Chanyeol could never hate you.”

“Sehun said yesterday he wanted to throw me in front of the moving subway.”

“Well, he doesn’t hate you anymore. And he won’t ever again, no matter the circumstances.” Luhan reasons.
Baekhyun doesn’t argue with him, mainly because he doesn’t know what to say. “You know, Mr. Park never liked
Kyungsoo. Ever. He probably still hates him, honestly.” Baekhyun has no idea how this confession is helping, but he
listens anyways. “So it’s a miracle that Mr. Park likes you. Which means that after this whole thing is over, he’ll
probably still like you. Everyone will. I will.” Baekhyun nods. That lifts something off of his shoulders.

“So take a deep breath, calm down, and dry your tears. You’re freaking the other guys out, they don’t know how to
deal with emotions.”

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun mumbles, taking the end of Chanyeol’s t shirt and wiping his eyes on his. They’re probably puffy
and for once, he’s thankful for the powder Tao brought. No doubt that his face is bright red. “No need to be sorry. I get
it.” Luhan stands up from the bed. “The guys brought lunch up. We’re going to eat, finish getting you ready, and then
we have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” Baekhyun doesn’t need any more surprises for the rest of his life.

“Yup. So take a sandwich and eat up so we can keep going.” Luhan walks over to the door and throws it open, yelling
down the hall for the other guys. The all emerge within seconds, but one look from Luhan and their questions drown
out before they even get the chance the ask them. Baekhyun is thankful, though he is a little embarrassed. They have
no idea what’s going on, and here he is bawling his eyes out and nearing a panic attack. Luckily they just ignore him,
though, and grab food, chowing down themselves before Baekhyun sighs and makes his way over to the sandwich
platter.

It doesn’t take them long to eat, and as soon as they’re done, they get back to work. The rest of them start getting
ready themselves, styling their own hair and fixing themselves up while Tao fixes Baekhyun’s face and the little part of
his hair he messed up when he leaned on Luhan’s shoulder. He looks almost normal, but then Tao brings out the
eyeliner, and he reels back so quick that it startles the latter. “Wait.”

“Baekhyun, it’ll look fine. I really think it will make your eyes pop.”

Baekhyun bites his lip, and considers it. Technically he’s already agreed, but still. He’s never worn makeup before,
he’s nervous.

“Just…”

“Yeah, yeah, if you look like a drag queen we’ll take it off.” Tao leans closer to Baekhyun and uncaps the pen, before
bringing it to Baekhyun’s face and working his magic. It doesn’t take long at all, surprisingly, but even when Tao is
done Baekhyun refuses to open his eyes. It takes prompting from the others and a few seconds before he squints his
eyes open and peers at the mirror.

“It actually looks really good. None of us can really make it work, but it looks good on you.” Jongin explains, being the
first to even say anything. But then everyone agrees, and Baekhyun sighs, studying his reflection. He doesn't look
awful. It does make his eyes pop. He doesn't hate it.

“It can stay.” he eventually says, turning to Tao. Tao throws his arms up in glee before jumping up and piling his stuff
on top of the dresser.

“Great. Good. Now I need to get ready, so just sit there and don’t fuck my work up.” Baekhyun laughs a little and
watches as he rushes around the room, gathering things he needs to fix himself up. All of the others are mostly ready,
save for Luhan, who can’t stop touching his hair and looking at himself in the mirror. The only one that’s completely
ready, with his suit on and everything, is Joonmyeon. Glancing at the clock, Baekhyun sees that it’s 1:00 p.m., and
begins to understand why Tao was rushing. They only have two hours left.

“We have to be at pictures at 2:15.” Chen announces, scrolling through his phone. “I just got a text from Minseok. But
Chanyeol and Baekhyun have to do their thing, and one of them will probably cry so Tao will have to fix them, so…”

“Right. So 1:45.” Joonmyeon says, and then turns to Baekhyun. “Any last minutes touch ups you need to do before we
put your suit on?”

Baekhyun stands up and goes to grab his toothbrush from his bag before making his way into the bathroom. Suddenly
he’s nervous, he doesn’t know what this ‘thing’ he and Chanyeol have to do is, and overall he just wants the day to be
over with. As he puts the toothpaste on his brush he sighs, coming up with all kinds of scenarios in his head.

When he’s done, and back in the room, Chen shoves his suit bag at him and instructs him to strip. Baekhyun’s not
sure he’s close enough with these people to do so, but Chen really isn’t leaving any room for an argument, so he
unzips the bag, drops his pants, and pulls on the slacks. After discarding his shirt and pulling the top pieces on, he
adjusts himself and then turns to the rest of them, waiting for their approval.

“Hm.” Chen says, cocking his head. “I’m not gay, but if I were, and if you weren’t marrying one of my best friends, I’d
totally tap that.”

“You ruined it.” Joonmyeon groans as he walks towards Baekhyun. He straightens the jacket and then picks up the tie
from the bed, throwing it around Baekhyun’s neck and proceeding to tie it. “You do look good, though. Chanyeol is a
very lucky man.”

“Thank you.” Baekhyun whispers. He chances a glance at Luhan, who only smiles at him and gives him a subtle
thumbs up. Somehow that makes it okay.

“Oh!” Tao practically screams, totally ruining the moment and scaring the hell out of all of them. “We forgot the note!
We forgot the fucking note!”

“Fuck!” Chen mutters, grabbing something off of the bed and thrusting it at Baekhyun. He then hands Baekhyun a pen
and it’s only then that he notices he’s holding a card.

“You have to write a card for Chanyeol. He wrote one for you, Kyungsoo is supposed to be bringing it by in a little bit
so hurry up!”

“What?” Baekhyun asks, staring down at the card in confusion.

“A love note, or whatever. Just your final words for each other before you get married. Something like that, I don’t
know, Mrs. Park said her and Mr. Park did it so she thought it would be a good idea for you two to do it too.” Jongin
explains. Baekhyun sighs. These people are so... extra.

“Okay, well…” he sighs, and uncaps the pen. Might as well.

Chanyeol,

He stares down at the blank piece of paper, conflicted. He honest to God can’t think of anything to write. He’s about to
just draw something and package it up, but then a thought comes to his mind, and he sighs. It’ll have to do.

Damn if I don’t wake up lovin you

I wake up lovin you

Those are the only lyrics I can remember, but I remember one time finding you in the recording room, singing your
heart out to some country song. So I wrote the lyrics here, in case the guys are reading over my shoulder. That way
they’ll see something corny. Because you’re corny, so I have to be corny.

I’m nervous as hell for today. I wasn’t going to tell you because you tend to freak out over small things, but your dad
came and talked to me, and I had a mental break down afterwards. He likes me. He gave me his blessing, and called
me his son. So I lost it.

I’m so sorry for doing this to you. You deserve so much more. I know I keep telling you this, but it’s true. Park
Chanyeol, you’re one hell of a person. I’m sorry for holding you back all these years. Keep singing your cheesy
country songs. It makes me smile. I like your smile.

See you later, Yoda,

Baek
Baekhyun finishes his letter, content, and then folds it nicely into the envelope. He writes Chanyeol’s name on the front
and even adds a little heart, before handing it over to Chen. Chen takes it, and types something out on his phone, and
then leaves the room without a word. Nobody really says anything while he’s gone. Tao continues to fix his hair, Luhan
messes with his suit, Jongin disappears into the bathroom to put his on. Joonmyeon stays preoccupied with his phone,
once he’s sure Baekhyun looks presentable. The room is relatively silent until Chen gets back and drops something
into Baekhyun’s lap, and then turns to Jongin.

“Jongin, your boyfriend looked hot.”

“I figured.” Jongin says, smirking. Baekhyun wants to puke at how gross they are but it also kind of makes him happy.
Jongin’s obsessed with Kyungsoo.

“Well, open your letter!” Tao encourages, pointing to the envelope in Baekhyun’s lap. Remembering the note,
Baekhyun picks it up and opens it, pulling out a card similar to his. He flips it open and finds Chanyeol’s literal chicken
scrawl, and smiles.

Byun Baekhyun,

My dad came and talked to me earlier today. He told me he gave you his blessing. I know you didn’t do anything
directly, but thank you anyways. It’s nice to finally feel accepted in his eyes.

Baekhyun sighs. He isn’t even a third of the way through Chanyeol’s letter, and already it’s better than his. He’s about
to take the paper and slit his throat with it.

Chen texted Minseok who told all of us that Tao got you to wear eyeliner. I can’t wait to see emo!Baekhyun. Really, it’s
what I’m most excited about. I’m also excited about the reception. Did you see the food my mom and Halmi made?
They made crab puffs. I’m stoked.

Baekhyun cringes at Chanyeol’s use of stoked, but smiles anyways. He’s such a dweeb.

Did my mom tell you she wants to send us on a honeymoon? I told her we couldn’t go right after this, because we
have to be back in New York for reasons, but she said she still wants to at some point. I don’t know about you, but
India sounds nice. I’ve always wanted to go. We could sight see and then spend a view days in the Maldives. The
pictures on Google look amazing.

We were listening to a song you produced earlier while we were getting ready. I told the guys you worked on it, they
were all impressed. Even Kyungsoo, and he’s a tough one to crack. They said you were talented. I told them I already
knew that, but yeah. I just thought you should know.

I’m running out of room, and I have to finish putting my suit on. I can’t wait to see you later. I’m excited, but also
nervous. We’re actually getting married. For real. Even if it’s fake.

See you soon, Baek,

Yoda

Baekhyun about screams when he sees the word Yoda written out on the paper, and has to keep himself from crying
because Tao worked so hard on making his face presentable. He fans the card in front of his face and blinks back his
tears, all while the others watch him. Luckily no one demands to read the letter, but still. He’s tired of showing emotion
in front of other people.

“Please don’t ruin my masterpiece.” Tao says, though it’s obviously he’s teasing. Baekhyun gives him a weak smile.
He’s okay now.
“I’m fine.” he says, taking a deep breath. “What time is it? When are we leaving?”

Suddenly, he’s anxious to see Chanyeol, to be out of this stupid room, and he really just wants to leave. Chen glances
at his phone, smirking.

“It’s 1:35. We could head down now, if everyone is ready.”

“Yes.” Baekhyun says, jumping up from the bed. While he was reading his letter everyone else had finished putting
their suits on so technically, there’s nothing else any of them have to do. “Wait, hold on.” Luhan pipes up. He steps
over some stuff that’s spread out on the floor and hands Baekhyun a small box. “When you, uh, go see Chanyeol,
you’re supposed to give him that. He doesn’t know about it.”

Baekhyun opens the box and peers down at it, his eyebrows pinched together. There are two, small, gold cufflinks,
with little designs on them. He looks back up at Luhan, confused when the older gives him a sad smile.

“They were his grandfather’s. Halmi gave them to me to give to you. Chanyeol was really close with him, she said she
wanted you to gift them to him.”

Baekhyun feels like crying all over again, dammit, but he doesn’t, and instead just takes a deep breath and nods. He
can do this. He can give Chanyeol his grandfather’s cufflinks. He can take the opportunity away

from someone else because what else can he do at this point?

“Well shit, I’ll bring the powder down because someone is going to end up crying, it’ll probably be me.” Tao exclaims,
pocketing the small tub. Jongin laughs at him, but Baekhyun doesn’t, because he’s still staring at the cufflinks. He
eventually shuts the box, though, and puts it in his lapel pocket, before standing up straight and nodding once.

“Well, let’s go get married.”

“That’s the spirit!” Chen cheers, and then grabs Baekhyun’s arm, dragging him out the door. The other’s gather a few
random things, like a hairbrush and a towel, for some reason, and then trail after Baekhyun and Chen.

They make their way downstairs and then out the front doors, where they come up on Halmi and Mrs. Park. They’re
directing someone with a large box, and with one glance at it, Baekhyun can tell it’s the cake. It’s huge and he kind of
wants to die because the packaging makes it look expensive.

“Ah, boys, finally!” Halmi says when she notices their group, smiling at all of them. “We’re going to take pictures soon,
but first, take Baekhyun to Chanyeol! He’s over by the gazebo.”

Baekhyun doesn’t really hear much of it though, because with one look at Halmi, he notices that she’s still in her
pajamas. Chen notices it too, and being far much braver than Baekhyun, asks her about it. “Halmi, where’s your
dress?”

“Oh, Yoora is fixing it. It made my boobs look saggy.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen in horror, but everyone else just laughs like it’s nothing. And with that Chen pulls him along,
trekking across the lawn in search for Chanyeol.

They do indeed find him at the gazebo, sitting on a bench and laughing with Sehun. Upon their arrival, though, Sehun
stands up and crosses over to them. He gives Baekhyun a smile but goes straight for Luhan, and Baekhyun smiles at
them. He hates to admit it, but Sehun is slowly climbing to the top of his favorites list.

Baekhyun has plans, though, so he turns away from the two and takes a deep breath before heading towards
Chanyeol. They’re far enough away that he can’t see his face in full detail or anything, so it is kind of like a ‘big reveal’
moment. When he finally does get to him he smiles and looks the younger up and down, not even being subtle.
“You clean up nice.” he jokes, grinning. Chanyeol doesn’t even reply, just smiles and surges forward. Baekhyun is
expecting a hug, so he opens his arms, but he’s taken by surprise when Chanyeol kisses him. He’s frozen for all of
three seconds before he begins to kiss him back, only pulling away when he actually can’t breath.

“Um.”

“They’re all watching.” Chanyeol explains, except his face is beat red and he’s staring at the ground. “Also, I didn’t
want you to say anything stupid like you did in your letter about still being sorry.” “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Chanyeol lifts his head and smiles. Baekhyun really can’t catch his breath, so he just stares at him, willing
the other to say something first.

“I have something for you.”

That breaks Baekhyun out of his daze, reminding him that he has a gift for Chanyeol as well. He reaches into his
pocket and pulls the small box out, clutching it close.

“Me too.” he says, smiling. “But you first.”

Chanyeol nods and takes a slender box out of his pocket, holding it out for Baekhyun. Baekhyun takes it and opens it
up, finding a silver Cartier watch. Baekhyun literally gasps, he feels like a blushing bride. “Chanyeol, you…”

“I remembered you saying awhile back that you have a watch, but it’s not a nice one, and you’ve always liked the
Cartier style, so…” Chanyeol trails off, scratching the back of his head. “I know this isn’t real, but like, I still wanted to
get you something.”

Baekhyun looks up at him and gives him a watery smile, before taking the watch out of the box and clipping it onto his
wrist.

“Thank you.” he mumbles, thumbing his own box. “I love it, really. I just feel bad, because I didn’t get you anything.
Halmi gave this to me and-”

“Hey, I don’t mind. What is it?”

Baekhyun sighs and hands the box over. Chanyeols peers down at it and then opens it up. It only takes him a few
seconds to recognize what it contains, and before Baekhyun can even get a word out, he’s tearing up.

“These are…” he doesn’t finish his sentence, but Baekhyun gets it.

“Yeah.” he pauses, sighing. “Want me to help you put them on?”

“Yes.” Chanyeol says instantly. He probably doesn’t need any help, they’re fairly easy to work, but Baekhyun wants to
do it anyways. He places the watch box in his pocket and then reaches for Chanyeol’s

wrist, clipping the cufflinks onto his jacket carefully. He’s about to pull away when he’s done, but then Chanyeol pulls
him into a hug, so he gives in and pillows his head on the younger’s chest. “We’re going to be fine.”

“Yeah.”

They pause, just standing there hugging for a few minutes. It’s soothing, listening to Chanyeol’s heart beat. It’s doing
wonders to calm Baekhyun down.

“Hey, Baek?”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun doesn’t even mind the nickname anymore. He kind of likes it.
“Question from the notebook.” Baekhyun snorts, having forgot all about the stupid thing. “Dream honeymoon?”

Baekhyun has to think about it for a moment, but then it hits him. “London. That’s where my parents went.”

“Hm.”

“But yours is India. The Maldives, more specifically.” Baekhyun recounts. Chanyeol laughs, and it vibrates through
Baekhyun’s entire body.

“I don’t know. London sounds pretty nice.”

Baekhyun smiles.

Eventually the two of them pull away, after being bribed by the catcalls from the rest of the guys. They link hands
though, almost subconsciously, and then make their way back to the group waiting for them. Mrs. Park has hired a
photographer, without consulting either Chanyeol or Baekhyun, so without much of a choice they’re instantly swept
away and forced to pose several different ways with several different people. Baekhyun hates it, but he goes along
with it because Chanyeol has a genuine smile on his face and because Mrs. Park looks incredibly happy. They take
what seems to be a thousand or so pictures in different locations around the house, and it seems like it takes hours,
but in reality they’re done in about 45 minutes. It’s 2:45 when they take their last photo, a group one with everyone,
even Mr. Park. And then after that they’re instructed to split up into their respective groups again.

“Well.” Baekhyun says, right before Chanyeol’s group starts to pulls him away. Chanyeol laughs. “I’ll see you in, like,
15 minutes.”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun says back, smiling. He watches as Chanyeol gets pulled away by Minseok and Yixing and then
sighs, turning to face his 5 keepers. They’re all smiling at him, and naturally he smiles back, before they walk towards
the barn.

“I don’t know about you,” Luhan says quietly, sidling up next to him while they walk to their waiting area in the barn. In
actuality it’s just a small barn cell that’s been closed off with sheets, but it works. “-but that was real, back there. With
you and Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun sighs and looks at Luhan, shrugging. He doesn’t know what to think.

“Just saying.” And then Luhan takes off ahead of him, plopping himself down on the only chair in the cell. Baekhyun
rolls his eyes, but he’s beginning to feel nervous again so he wouldn’t want to sit anyways. Instead he paces, back and
forth, while the guys watch him with amusement in their eyes. Baekhyun only glances at them once.

It feels like an eternity passes before someone finally comes and gets them in their little cell. It’s Yoora, Chanyeol’s
sister, and Baekhyun hasn’t seen much of her lately but he smiles at her anyways. She’ll be his sister-in-law in about
30 minutes, anyways.

“Luhan, you and Sehun will go down the aisle first. Then me, Chen and Minseok as three. After that is Joonmyeon and
Yixing, then Kris and Tao, and then you and Kyungsoo, Jongin.” Yoora explains as they walk to the front of the barn.
Baekhyun can hear all of the people inside and it makes the hairs on his arms stand up. He wants to run, but he can’t,
so he gulps and keeps following the group.

“Baekhyun, Halmi will walk you down the aisle, okay?”

“What?” Baekhyun says, snapping his head forward. He was not aware of this.

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay. She offered.”

Baekhyun sighs and nods, because he isn’t going to be the one to tell Halmi no. Not in a million years. He wouldn’t
have a chance to argue it anyways, because suddenly they’re approaching the entrance, which quiets them all down.

Baekhyun watches as all of the guys line up with their respective others, right as the music inside the barn starts. He
wants to laugh because it’s like a soap opera, so many gay couples, but he doesn’t because he feels like he’s going to
throw up. The feeling doesn’t go away when the others start walking, either, and Baekhyun is about to make a pit stop
in the bushes to relieve himself, but then Halmi shows up at his side and grins at him.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.” she whispers, taking his arm. “Fuck gender standards.” Baekhyun chokes and about
starts coughing, mortified because Halmi has no shame, but he’s nearing the entrance and has to compose himself for
all of these people he doesn’t know. Halmi laughs quietly at his discomfort, but eventually he sobers up, and by the
time they’re second in line he’s back to normal. Well, for

the most part, because he still feels like he needs to puke, but it’s better. He can stomach it. He’s pretty sure he isn’t
green.

Jongin and Kyungsoo make their way down the aisle, which leaves Baekhyun at the front. Suddenly the music
changes and Baekhyun doesn’t recognize it at first but he swears if they play Here Comes the Bride It’s just a slow,
classical tune, thank God, so Baekhyun takes a deep breath and steps forward with his left foot. Halmi practically
drags him the rest of the way down the aisle, but they make it, even though Baekhyun is pretty sure he’ll never
remember any of it, he’s that nervous. But he’s in front of Chanyeol, and Halmi is hugging the both of the them, and
then Chanyeol is taking his hands in his own, so Baekhyun ignores his feelings and steps up on the small platform. He
ignores the crowd in front of them and he still hasn’t looked at Chanyeol, but he figures he probably should so he takes
a deep breath and tips his head up. And stops breathing.

He saw Chanyeol not even 30 minutes ago, but for some reason, now that he’s up close and everything is happening,
he looks ten thousand times more handsome. He’s smiling down at Baekhyun, biting his lip, and Baekhyun is not sure
his heart is okay.

“I hadn’t really noticed the eyeliner earlier.” Chanyeol whispers to him, while the crowd sits down. “It looks good.”

Baekhyun’s vocal cords are broken, apparently, because all he can do is nod dumbly. Chanyeol chuckles quietly, and
even though the pastor-person-or-whatever-Baekhyun-doesn’t-know starts talking, he doesn’t take his eyes off of him.

And honestly, if a gun was held to his head, Baekhyun still wouldn’t be able to recite anything that the man says during
the service, so he’d have to die because all he does is stare right back at Chanyeol, etching every single detail of his
face into his brain. From the way his lips curve upwards, to the way his eyes widen every time Baekhyun shifts. He
physically cannot look away, and apparently neither can Chanyeol, because the next thing they know, Sehun is
slapping Chanyeol’s arm, and the crowd is laughing.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, looking to the pastor for help, and then out at the crowd. Mrs. Park looks murderous in her
seat, but Halmi is laughing, half hanging out of her chair. Mr. Park just smirks at them. “The vows, sir.” the pastor says,
trying his best to hide his smile. Chanyeol makes a small ‘oh’ with his mouth, and then turns back to Baekhyun, his
hands squeezing the older’s tightly. Baekhyun squeezes back. He feels like he’s going to throw up again.

“Well,” Chanyeol begins, and then laughs quietly. “-to be honest, this all happened so fast, I didn’t even think to write
anything down. So, I guess I have to wing it.”

“Byun Baekhyun, you are one of my most favorite people on this Earth.” Baekhyun holds his breath, his eyes wide,
anticipating this speech. It seems as if everyone else behind him freezes as well. “Your smile can light up a room. Your
laugh is like music to my ears. I love seeing your face every morning.” Chanyeol pauses and chuckles a little, shaking
his head. “I didn’t always think these things. Quite the opposite, actually, but everyone here knows that. But now?
Wow, have I got it bad.” “You sit in a swivel chair and yell at people through a microphone for a living, yet anything you
sing is my favorite song. You’re so talented, with everything you do and I don’t think you realize it but I couldn’t be
more proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. You don’t take no for an answer and that’s what I admire most
about you.”

“I could sit here and promise you so many things, but I think we’d be here all night, and I’m not sure everyone would
appreciate that.” The audience laughs, and Baekhyun would like to chance a look at them, but he can’t tear his eyes
away from Chanyeol. “But just know that I’m here for you. I’m here for everything you do, I’m your biggest supporter,
and I want the best for you. Always.”

“And I promise that no matter what happens, I’ll always be your Yoda.”

Baekhyun’s jaw drops, and his eyes well up with tears, and a couple of them spill, and he barely glances behind
Chanyeol but he can see Yixing and Sehun and fucking Kyungsoo crying and fuck, shit, what has he gotten himself
into

Chanyeol grins down at him, and he barely misses it, but when Chanyeol whispers “I mean it, all of it” for only him to
hear, he freezes. He feels like he’s suffocating, dying practically, and he wants to run out of the barn but he also wants
to reach up and kiss Chanyeol senseless, he’s so conflicted, it’s been three days but he’s so in love with this man in
front of him, probably always has been and has just been in denial, he’s so stupid-

“Baekhyun? Your vows?”

Baekhyun snaps out of and stares up at the pastor, who’s smiling down at him in a way that suggests he should
probably hurry the fuck up. So Baekhyun takes a deep breath, and turns back to Chanyeol, and looks him in the eye.

“I-”
Chapter 8 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21719327) : Chapter 8

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756#chapter_8_endnotes) .)

Baekhyun stares at his computer screen, scrolling through all of the emails he’s received so far. It’s only 10 in the
morning, and it’s a Tuesday, but his inbox is full. There’s been a bit of miscommunication between two of the
departments and for some reason, Baekhyun and his main crew have been drug into the middle of it. Something about
incompetent employees, and firing entire floors, and needing to find workers that have more than 6 months of
internship experience. Baekhyun doesn’t understand what any of it has to do with him, he’s a great boss with (mostly)
hard working employees, so he closes out of his mail app and sighs. He leans back into his chair and runs a hand
through his hair, closing his eyes for a few seconds to will his headache away. He loves his job, honestly, but
sometimes it just gets old. People become needy and annoying, and Baekhyun doesn’t know how to deal with it. He
just wants to make music that speaks to people, makes a difference, and yes he can be a hard ass and petty as fuck
at times, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He just doesn’t like to deal with immature people. And the people
flooding his inbox? They’re immature.

Sighing again, he sits up in his chair and leans his elbows onto his desk. He needs a drink, or about five hundred, but
since he’s on the clock until at least 7, he can’t do that. So he decides that coffee is an exceptional alternate and grabs
for his pager, pulling up his interns name and buzzing for him.

He waits for a couple of minutes, because sometimes Chanyeol does get backed up with things, but after about 10
minutes he groans and pages him again. He waits a lesser amount of time this go around, because his nerves are
running thin, and when Chanyeol doesn’t appear at his door, he stands up and lets out a huff. He’s not about to walk
down to the Starbucks at the end of the street himself, so he grabs his phone and wallet and begins his quest for the
younger man.

Usually when Chanyeol doesn’t answer immediately it’s because he’s in the cafeteria, or in the bathroom, so
Baekhyun checks those places first, all the while continuing to page the man. He’s unsuccessful with the cafeteria, and
quite frankly he’s disgusted that Chanyeol even eats in a place like it because they’re serving roast beef and it looks
like road kill. Not wanting to experience the smell anymore, he takes himself to the bathrooms on the same floor, and
when he doesn’t find him there, he goes back up to his own floor to check there. The younger isn’t there, either, and
he still hasn’t alerted Baekhyun back with his pager, so Baekhyun mumbles under his breath about needing to find
better help while he makes his way to the stairwell.

The only other place Baekhyun can think to look is the recording floor, so he climbs the last few flights of stairs until he
gets to one of the top floors, and pushes the door open to the studio spaces. There are six in total on the floor, so he
makes his way to the first one, and begins his search.

Chanyeol isn’t there, and he’s not in the second or third one either, so by the fourth studio, Baekhyun is honestly pretty
pissed. For some reason he’s more laid back with Chanyeol, he can joke with him and he really doesn’t mind if the
younger goes off and does his own thing every once in while, but this? This is ridiculous, and yes it’s only about
coffee, but it still angers Baekhyun. What if there was an actual emergency?

He checks the fifth one, and comes up empty handed, and then walks to the sixth, mostly fuming. And thank God
Chanyeol is in there, sitting on a stool, because if he hadn’t been, Baekhyun might have pulled the fire alarm, that way
he could flush everyone out and pick through the crowd for his dumb intern.

He’s about to walk into the studio screaming at Chanyeol, even has his hand on the doorknob and everything, but then
he notices that in addition to sitting on the stool, Chanyeol has a guitar, and he’s singing. Baekhyun releases his hand
from the doorknob and knits his eyebrows together, watching as the younger strums something on the instrument and
belt a few notes out. He can’t hear him, of course, but he’s a little intrigued, so he backs away slowly.

He’s heard Chanyeol sing a few times, but it had always mostly just been humming or short, one-line phrases. He’s
never heard him full on sing, and Baekhyun is always one for discovering new talent, so he tries to discreetly make his
way to the soundboard to put a pair of headphones on. Luckily Chanyeol has his eyes closed for the majority of it, so
Baekhyun sneaks by unnoticed, and plops down into one of the swivel chairs. He tugs the headphones on and
presses a few buttons around until the voice on the other side of the glass fills his ears.

And boy, does it catch him off guard. He has to sit back and bite his lip to keep himself from smiling while he listens as
Chanyeol sings his heart out.

“Maybe I could get myself half of a chance-”

“To get a life and act like a different man-”

“But my best of intentions were all shot to hell, and I found myself hiding in a cheap hotel.” “Drownin’ in the whiskey,
starin’ at the TV, tryin’ not to sleep ‘cause I’m just gonna wake up lovin you!” He belts out the last note and Baekhyun
grins, holding himself back from leaning forward and clapping. He

never expected Chanyeol to be a fan of country music, because EXO doesn’t really produce that kind of stuff, but
somehow the song suits his voice. Baekhyun really doesn’t know how to describe it, but it’s nice. Chanyeol is talented,
that’s for sure.

The younger man finishes the song after a few more lines, and after he sits on the stool and just taps his foot for a few
seconds, he starts up another song and starts humming along to a tune. Baekhyun would honestly rather sit in his
chair and listen to Chanyeol sing for the rest of the day, his life even, but unfortunately his pager goes off, and he
doesn’t want Chanyeol to hear it and find out he’s been in here listening to him, so he quietly and quickly takes off the
headphones and sets them down before making his way back to the stairwell.

He’s being paged to a meeting on the third floor, with the departments that had been arguing earlier, and it takes
everything within him not to throw himself down the stairs in an attempt to off himself. But since he needs his job and
the likelihood of dying from falling down some stairs in almost nonexistent, he makes his way down to the floor, a
scowl on his face.

He really can’t help the way his heart clenches, though, every time he thinks about Chanyeol singing in the sound
booth. And it’s confusing as fuck for him, because for some reason, he can’t stop smiling every time the younger’s
image pops into his brain. He’s never going to mention it to the man, that’s for sure, but he kind of likes it that way. Like
he has Chanyeol singing just for himself.

It’s concerning, and Baekhyun tries his best to ignore the feelings, but he can’t, and he misses most of the meeting
thinking about Chanyeol fucking singing to him.

“I’m going to throw up.”

“What?” Chanyeol says, concern flashing over his face. He throws on a nervous smile, glancing up at the pastor while
squeezing Baekhyun’s hands. “Baek, you okay?”

“No.” Baekhyun mumbles out. His throat is dry, but it isn’t at the same time, and he’s afraid that if he stays standing
any longer, he’s going to pass out. “I, um, need to…”

“Hey, Baekhyun, take a deep breath.” Chanyeol lets go of his hands and instead brings his own up to Baekhyun’s
face, cupping his cheeks. “You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
“I need to go outside.” he croaks, and before anyone can say anything else, he takes off down the aisle. People gasp
all around him, but he pays them no attention, just focuses on the open door. Once he makes it he turns and heads for
the bushes near the dock, almost falling into them once he gets there. He doesn’t even get a chance to steady himself
before he’s throwing up in them, bent over while tears stream down his face. The only thing that really brings him back
to the world is a warm hand on his neck, and someone whispering things in his ear, trying to console him.

“Hey, you’re okay, let it out.” the voice says, and Baekhyun can’t turn around to see who it is, but he’s almost 100%
positive that it’s Chanyeol. “I’ve got you.”

Baekhyun stays hunched over for a few more minutes, in case anything else happens, but once he’s positive he’s
done, he shakily stands back up and turns around. He’s expecting the entire fucking crowd to be there watching him,
with mortified faces, but instead he just finds Chanyeol’s parents, Halmi, and Luhan. There’s also Chanyeol, and
Baekhyun was right, he was the one that had been practically holding him up. Finding it comforting, Baekhyun
collapses into the younger, and begins sobbing, not being able to hold back the tears. He can hardly see but that
doesn’t mean he can’t make out Mrs. Park and Halmi rushing towards them, concern written all over their faces.

“Oh, sweetheart, what’s the matter?” Mrs. Park asks, and it’s obvious she’s trying to hold back her own tears.
Baekhyun chokes on a sob and pushes his face into Chanyeol’s chest. He goes with the younger when Chanyeol
moves to sit down, and then folds himself into his lap, trying his best to breathe. Chanyeol just sits there and shushes
him, rubbing a hand up and down his back.

“I’m sorry.” Baekhyun chokes out, sniffling in a way that reminds him of a very upset toddler. Chanyeol just sighs and
leans his head on top of Baekhyun’s, running his fingers through his hair. “Don’t apologize for this, honey, sometimes
nerves just happen.” Mrs. Park says, crouching down in her dress and heels so that she’s on the same level as them.
“I was a nervous wreck for my wedding, too.” “He’s not talking about that, mom.” Chanyeol explains, letting out a sigh.
Baekhyun watches as Luhan’s shoulders drop from behind the small group around them, giving him a sad look.
Baekhyun knows exactly how to interpret it, and he sniffles again, the tears still coming.

“What do you mean?” Halmi asks. She’s still standing, but she’s so short that Baekhyun really doesn’t have to lean up
to see her. “Chanyeol, what’s going on here?”

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, and neither does Baekhyun, mostly because he can’t. He has the
hiccups now, and he’s still crying, and his face isn’t buried in Chanyeol’s chest anymore, but he’s still wrapped around
the younger. Chanyeol just holds him tightly, almost as if his life depends on it.

“I’m sorry, guys.” Chanyeol begins, and Baekhyun doesn’t have to look up to know that there are tears in his eyes. He
can hear it in his voice.

“For what?” Halmi doesn’t look mad, per say, but she doesn’t look understanding at all. Mrs. Park stands up and joins
her husband's side, looking as confused as ever. Mr. Park doesn’t show much emotion, but

Baekhyun knows he’s staring him down. Luhan just stands frozen behind them all, biting his lip. Baekhyun assumes
he’s there as a clutch, and really, he’s thankful.

“Baekhyun and I aren’t...we aren’t engaged.”

“What do you mean you’re not engaged?” Mr. Park drawls out. He looks pissed.

“I offered to fake marry him, because he was going to get deported back to Korea.” Chanyeol explains, slowly. No one
says anything after that, it’s silent for a solid 2 minutes. Chanyeol’s arms never leave Baekhyun, though, and
Baekhyun’s not sure what he was expecting, but he appreciates it. He has to pull himself together, though, so he
wipes at his eyes and his nose and then sits up, pretty much crawling off of Chanyeol’s lap. Chanyeol immediately
grabs his hand, and laces their fingers together, even though he doesn’t look at him.
“Are you stupid? That’s illegal! What overcame you to make you think that that was okay?” Mr. Park asks, and he
doesn’t look mad, but the hurt that washes over his face nearly breaks Baekhyun. “I-” Chanyeol begins. He shifts and
takes a deep breath, and Baekhyun is about to start explaining, wants to tell the Parks that he pretty much forced their
son into the deal, but then Chanyeol starts talking again and effectively cuts him off.

“I wanted to...I thought that if he spent the weekend here, with me, then he’d, I don’t know, like me back.” Baekhyun’s
head snaps up and he stares at Chanyeol, but the younger doesn’t make eye contact. “You don’t have to lie.”
Baekhyun mumbles, removing his hand from Chanyeol’s. Chanyeol lifts his head and shakes it, biting his lip.

“I’m not.” he says. “I promise.”

They sit there staring at each other for what feels like forever, pretty much forgetting about everyone else. Baekhyun
doesn’t know what to say. There are snot stains on Chanyeol’s shirt, and he has eyeliner smudges on his cheek from
Baekhyun’s face, and Baekhyun probably looks like a fucking mess, but for some reason all Baekhyun can do is zero
in on the younger’s eyes and focus on how they’re practically pleading for him to understand.

“I’ve liked you since forever, Baek, even though you were an asshole to me for so long. You just never noticed.”

Baekhyun’s heart stops, he swears, everything around them freezes, the ocean 5 feet away stops moving, the wind
stops blowing, he stops breathing. Chanyeol gulps and looks back down at his hands, fumbling around with his
fingers. Baekhyun can only stare.

“You were in sound booth 6, singing that stupid country song about drinking whiskey in a hotel room.” “What?”
Chanyeol looks up and his eyes and red-rimmed, and Baekhyun’s heart shatters. He takes Chanyeol’s hands back in
his and laces their fingers together, smiling a little.

“When I first noticed you. Really noticed you. You were sitting on a stool in the studio, and you were playing the guitar,
and singing that song, and it caught me so off guard, and then I went to a meeting and couldn’t think about anything
but you. You singing your heart out and sounding so angelic, so nice, I wanted to hear that voice sing to me for the
rest of my life.”

“I tried to be so annoyed with you, Chanyeol. This whole trip. But you kept being nice to me, even though I’m the
world’s biggest asshole, and you kept holding my hand when I didn’t want you too, and you kissed me, and you said
all of those things about me in front of all of those people, and I just…”

“I love you. At least, I think I do. Or I want to. I don’t know, but I do know that you’re honest to God beautiful, and your
smile lights up my entire world, and you’re the best person I know, and you and your stupid self made me not want to
be with anyone else.”

Baekhyun takes a deep breath as he finishes talking. He chances a look at Chanyeol’s face and finds the younger
staring down at him, his mouth wide open, his face frozen. Baekhyun’s not sure if he should be concerned, or if he
should just get up and walk over to the water and drown himself, or-

“Well if that ain’t a love confession!” Halmi screeches, catching both he and Chanyeol off guard. “Kiss him, Channy,
before I do!”

Chanyeol takes her advice and surges forward, knocking Baekhyun backwards while their lips lock. Baekhyun laughs,
but he wraps his arms around the younger’s neck anyways, and kisses him back. They only break apart because they
hear clapping, and also because Baekhyun can’t breath, mostly because Chanyeol is on top of him.

“I come out here to make sure no one has died, and see this shit!” Chen pretty much yells, wiping at his eyes.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol both laugh at the emotional man, even though they have tears in their eyes as well. In their fit
of glee they pretty much forget about everyone else, but then Mrs. Park appears again in front of them, looking
confused as hell. She motions for the two of them to stand up so they do, wiping themselves off, but the minute
Baekhyun has all of the grass off of him, he links his hand with Chanyeol’s again.

“So you’re not engaged, but you love each other?” She looks bewildered. Baekhyun and Chanyeol nod. “This was all
fake. Well, as far as you two were concerned.”

They nod again. Mrs. Park places her hands on her hips.

“I spent the whole damn day-” she begins, looking murderous, “-making food for this event, and arranging for flowers
to be sent in, and calling friends and family members to tell them my son was getting married, to be told that it’s all just
a big act for a fucking Visa?”

Baekhyun has never heard the older woman cuss before, so he’s honestly a little startled, but he doesn’t anything, just
watches as Chanyeol rolls his eyes. He wonders if he has a death wish. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to
marry him some day.” Chanyeol says, and then turns to Baekhyun. “I can’t marry you today though.”

Baekhyun, taken aback, scowls. Chanyeol smiles at him.

“Because we have to do it right. I want to do it right this time around.” Chanyeol grins, and then gets down on one
knee, surprising Baekhyun and apparently everyone else, because even Mr. Park makes a surprised sound.

“I don’t want to marry you today, because I want to spend the next however long picking out flower arrangements with
you, and taste testing cakes, and getting to know you better. So for now, Baekhyun, will you be real-engaged to me,
that way we can tell Mr. Killian so you don’t get shipped back to Korea?”

“Oh my God, stand up, you ruined the moment.” Baekhyun says, though he’s laughing. There are tears again, but he
nods anyways, pulling Chanyeol into another kiss. Chanyeol smiles against his lips and then, without any warning, lifts
Baekhyun into the air and twirls him around. Chen screeches in the background. Halmi claps and makes an approving
sound. Mr. Park clears his throat. That kind of ruins the moment, so they pull apart and glance at Chanyeol’s father
nervously, mostly because his face shows no expression.

“I gave you two my blessing.” he says, and Baekhyun gulps. “I cried, dammit. I feel like I’m in a Spanish Telenovela.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen at that, and he glances at Chanyeol, who looks just as shocked, before turning back to Mr.
Park.

“You two better plan the best damn wedding, if I have to go through all of this again.” Baekhyun can’t even help it, he
falls into Chanyeol laughing, because Mr. Park is right. They are living in a Spanish telenovela. Or a soap opera. Or
some sappy Hallmark movie. He’s not sure which, but it might even be all three combined. Smut writers probably
couldn’t even come up with anything better. His life is one, big cheesy, plot line and he honestly can’t believe he gets
the chance to be a part of it, but he’s happy. He’s happy because he’s not going to be deported back to freaking
Korea. He’s happy because he’s made what he would consider ten new friends in the past three days. He’s happy
because he’s met the world’s most caring parents, and he gets to keep them. He’s happy because he gets the honor
of being in the presence of the Halmi Park. But most importantly, he’s happy because even though he’s technically the
bad guy, the antagonist, he still gets Chanyeol.

He looks up and finds Chanyeol laughing right along with him, his right eye squinted a little, his head tilted back, his
arms flapping, and he’s 5000% positive he’s never seen anything so beautiful. He grins and looks back down,
scanning the people in front of him until he finds Luhan. Sehun is there now, attached to Luhan’s hip, and they’re both
smiling at he and Chanyeol so hard that Baekhyun’s afraid their faces are going to break. Luhan catches his eye,
though, and softens his smile, giving him a thumbs up. Baekhyun nods back, slightly, smile widening. He’s about to
look away, but then Luhan mouths something at him, and smirks.

“Told you.”
Damn right you did, Baekhyun thinks, laughing. And you were so, so right.

“No, don’t touch that.” Baekhyun grits out. Chanyeol frowns and sets the small figurine back down on the table in the
middle of the waiting room. They’re at the INS building waiting for their meeting with Mr. Killian, which was supposed
to start 15 minutes ago, but every fucking one else is late, so they haven’t been able to go back yet.

Baekhyun isn’t really sure how it happened, he just knows that he got a call from Mr. Killian a few hours after what
everyone has been calling The Front Lawn Confessional, reminding him of their appointment, and then informing him
that they needed to bring at least 3 witnesses that would also be questioned. And, well, Chanyeol’s family and friends
aren’t ones to do anything half-assed, so they all packed up and shipped out with them later that night. Baekhyun has
seven of them staying in his tiny apartment, it is hell.

“Do you think they got lost?” Baekhyun asks. He’s sitting pin-straight in his chair, his legs folded with his hands
propped on top of them. Chanyeol rolls his eyes and throws his arm over his shoulders, dropping a kiss onto his
forehead.

“Probably.” Baekhyun’s eyes about bug out of his head. “Relax, everything is going to be fine. Stop freaking out.”

“Oh, excuse me for being worried about being deported.”

Chanyeol just grins and pulls Baekhyun into his side. Baekhyun practically melts against him, sighing. The only reason
they’re not with everyone else is because Baekhyun had to go into the office early to get a few documents, just in
case, and Chanyeol hasn’t really left his side, so. They trusted the rest of them to get here on time with a cab, and the
address punched into their phones, but, well. Clearly that hasn’t happened.

But honestly, Baekhyun is just happy they’re all in New York, together, in the first place. Halmi had never been out of
Sitka before, and Tao’s phobia of being in the sky about held them back, but here they are. It’s a miracle, really.

“You know, we should really get some rings.” Chanyeol mutters, after a few moments of silence. Baekhyun rolls his
eyes.

“That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Well, no, but-”

Except Chanyeol is cut off by the front door opening. In comes their group, all 13 of them, and Baekhyun honestly has
never been so happy to see a bunch of goons (minus the Parks, which doesn’t include Yoora, mostly because of her
job) in his life. He jumps up and rushes towards them, half manic. “Where have you guys been?!”

“Yixing told the cab driver to take us to the ICS building, not the INS building, and all the other cabs just followed us,
and we got so lost, man.” Tao explains, looking just as exasperated as Baekhyun feels. Baekhyun stares at them in
horror.

“No one thought to correct him?!”

“Well, I wasn’t really paying attention, and-” Joonmyeon begins to say, looking sheepish, but he’s cut off by the
secretary lady calling Baekhyun over.

“Mr. Byun, is this your group?” she asks, looking a little frazzled. Baekhyun sighs and nods. Unfortunately.

“Wonderful.” She doesn’t look like it’s wonderful at all. “Mr. Killian can take two at a time, except you and Chanyeol
have to go in by yourselves.”
Baekhyun nods again. Understandable.

“Great. So who’s first?”

“Baekhyun has this weird mole thing on his thigh, I only know this because I had to save him from drowning, and
Chanyeol drunk texted me after their bachelor party, when Baekhyun was asleep, and told me that it was his favorite
part of him because it made him unique. I don’t know, their love is weird like that.” Sehun explains, leaning back in his
chair and kicking his feet up on the desk.

Luhan swats at his boyfriend until the younger takes his legs down, a scowl on his face. “Their love isn’t weird. It’s
sweet. I’ve never seen anything so genuine.”

“Look.” Chen begins. He leans forward, Mr. Killian doesn’t look phased. “I saw The Front Lawn Confessional
first-hand. We practically had to peel them off of each other before they started having sex. They’re crazy about each
other. Next.”

“Baekhyun has a nice smile.” Minseok explains. “Chanyeol has always liked boys with nice smiles.” “Baekhyun is
practically my second son. We love him very much.” Mrs. Park tears up, sniffling. “I’m so happy for them, they’re so in
love.”

Mr. Park grunts in agreement. Mr. Killian doesn’t ask him any questions.

“Listen, he’s really bad at bowling. And so is Chanyeol. They’re practically made for each other. If there was a league
between all of us, their team would be in last place. No questions about it.” Tao says. “He called Kyungsoo a Satan
penguin for the first two days he was in Sitka. I like him.” Kris confesses. Mr. Killian writes it down.

“Most people don’t pay my dog much attention. Brian...he’s selective. If he doesn’t like someone, he lets them know it.
Oh, but he loves Baekhyun. So much. Baekhyun took him and played with him one morning, it was so cute. He held
him in the air and ran around with him. If Brian approves of him, I approve of him. We love Baekhyun.” Halmi smiles
sweetly.

“There was this one time in high school, Luhan got hit by an ice cream truck, and it was just me and Chanyeol but I
was too freaked out, so Chanyeol drove, and calmed me down, and made sure Luhan was okay, and I think Baekhyun
needs someone like that. In case he gets hit by a train, or something.” Sehun says.

“He let me put makeup on him. I need him to stick around, because no one else let’s me do that. Kris just frowns at me
when I mention it.” Tao exhales, looking sad.

“He brought designer bags with him. They were Salvatore Ferragamo, he has nice taste.” Joonmyeon shrugs.

Yixing rolls his eyes at his boyfriend. “He’s high maintenance. Chanyeol is about as low maintenance as they come.
They balance each other out nicely.”

“We worshipped the marriage Gods together. He sang a song, I can’t remember it exactly, but it talked about balls. I
suppose he meant to dedicate it to Chanyeol. He has a lovely singing voice, I think his and my grandson’s would
sound quite well together.” Halmi says.

“The boy eats like a horse.” Mrs. Park recalls fondly. “He’s so small, I just want to take care of him. So does Chanyeol.
I think they’ll make a good pair.”

“My kid’s happy, that’s all I can ask for.” Mr. Park mutters.

“He likes fruity drinks. My boyfriend likes fruity drinks, too, and I really like my boyfriend, so I like Baekhyun. He’s cool.”
Jongin explains. Kyungsoo stares in horror at him, and then turns to Mr. Killian. “I dated Chanyeol for eight years, and
he never looked at me the way he looks at Baekhyun. If anyone can tell you that they’re in love, it’s me. They’re so
happy together, it’s like Chanyeol is a whole different person. Baekhyun makes him better, in a weird kind of way.”

“His favorite food? I don’t know.” Baekhyun bites his lip. “He always eats Special K bars in the morning, with his coffee.
Oh, coffee wouldn’t be his favorite, I know that, because he always gets the same thing as me in case he spills mine,
and he likes hot chocolate better.”

“Blue. Blue is his favorite color. Everything he owns is blue.” Chanyeol explains.

“His favorite movie is The Terminator. He quotes it all the time, oh my God, it’s so annoying.” Baekhyun sighs.

“If we ever got a pet together? Yeah, it’d be like a lizard or something. Baekhyun really isn’t a dog person, he hates my
Halmi’s dog, Brian.” Chanyeol confesses. Mr. Killian stares at him for a few seconds, and then notes it down next to
Halmi’s comments.

“Seattle Mariners. I don’t even watch sports, but who likes the Mariners?” Baekhyun says. “Oh, I know this.” Chanyeol
laughs. “Big Bang Theory. 100%. He wants to be Sheldon, but he’ll never admit it.”

“He’s from Sitka, he likes the cold.”

“He doesn’t like almonds. He always makes me pick them out of his trail mix at the office.” “He said that? No I don’t.
He’s the one who tells everyone he’s allergic to pistachios, but really he just doesn’t like them.”

“Yeah, Baekhyun hates girls. I think he has a phobia of them. He’s really gay.”

“Past relationships? He dated Kyungsoo for practically forever. I’m sure they were cute together.” “No, he doesn’t have
any friends. Well, he didn’t. He stole Luhan away from me.”

“He would want to go to India, and the Maldives. Why do you ask, are you going to fund the trip?” “He doesn’t have a
middle name? He’s Korean. It’s just Byun Baekhyun.”

“November 27th, 1992. I thought you were going to ask us hard questions?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure his favorite thing about me are my ears.”

“His ears. Easy.” Baekhyun sighs. “Can I leave now?”

“What kind of question is that? I’m engaged to Baekhyun.”

“Only a few more.” Mr. Killian says. Baekhyun stares at him. He’s been in the small office for 30 minutes now, and
really, all he wants to do is get back to Chanyeol. “When did you two start dating?” “Officially? Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yesterday.”

“Interesting.” Mr. Killian notes it down. “And you’re getting married? After a day of dating?”

“Yes.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I love him.”

Mr. Killian glares at him for a few seconds, and all Baekhyun can do is glare back. He despises the man, honestly.
“Who are you engaged to?”

“Chanyeol.”

“Final answer?”

“Park. Chanyeol.”

“And so yeah, the idiot sat at the end of the boat, who does that?” Chen laughs. “That’s when I knew he was special. I
mean, not like, mentally, but that he was the one for Chanyeol, because only Chanyeol could manage to find the only
person on the planet who sits at the back of a speed boat. He got so soaked, oh my God, I couldn’t stop laughing. He
looked like a wet puppy, his shirt was sticking to him, his fancy bags were a mess, his hair was plastered to his face,
he had a fucking, oh excuse my language, life jacket on, and…”

Notes:
AH IT'S OVER I KNOW IT WAS KIND OF CHOPPY AND SHORT I WANTED IT TO BE THAT WAY. I absolutely
despised the ending of the movie, but I did kind of like how it was a little ambiguous, so I tried to implement that same
technique here.

Thank you guys so much for reading this story, and commenting, and leaving kudos! It means a lot! I had a lot of fun
writing this. I think the only thing I'm upset about is the fact that I got super attached to Luhan as a character, and,
well... But anyways! I truly hope you guys enjoyed this! Please let me know what you think of the ending, I'm curious
lol.
Chapter 9 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263756/chapters/21950462) : Epilogue

Notes:

Jesus christ I wrote this nearly a year ago and now that I like...actually know EXO I realize that no one calls Jongdae
Chen anymore and I sound like the most annoying 12-year-old chanbaek shipper on the planet but! For some reason
you guys keep reading and commenting on this even like ten months later so thank you so much!!! Even if I kind of
hate this fic I remember how much fun I had writing it so I guess it isn't all that bad :')

But nonetheless thank you guys for all of the comments and kudos you left on this fic!!! People talk about it on twitter
all the time and it amazes me how much you guys liked it, so thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!

One year later…

Baekhyun wakes up with a horrendous headache, no pants on, and cottonmouth. His dress shirt is still on, though it’s
unbuttoned and rumpled and twisted on his body. He doesn’t need to look down to know that he only has one sock on,
the other nowhere to be found. He can smell the stench of alcohol on him. The only thing that’s pleasant is Chanyeol,
who’s snoring quietly beside him, his head pillow on Baekhyun’s chest.

He doesn’t remember a lot from the night before. He knows it was a wedding, Kyungsoo and Jongin’s at that. He
remembers it being nice, with a spring green and light orange theme. His outfit was nice, a fitted pant-and-vest
combination that didn’t make him look fat. He cried at the service, but that was only because Jongin choked on his
vows and Kyungsoo laughed at him and then cried on his shoulder. The reception venue was breathtaking. The DJ
was good, and played all of the best throwbacks. Yixing caught the boutonniere, because there were no bouquets, and
then made out with Joonmyeon in the photo booth for an hour. There was an open bar. Baekhyun supposes that that’s
the reason why he doesn’t remember anything past the first dance.

He’s not sure how he and Chanyeol got back to their hotel room, because if he remembers correctly, Chanyeol was
just as plastered as him, if not more, but here they are. Baekhyun’s just glad they’re not in the middle of a street
somewhere. He wonders if the others were just as lucky, although Kris had offered to be the sober monitor for the
night, so he guesses that they’re all fine. He’ll have to call them later on and make sure, just in case.

After he’s stared at the wall for a few minutes, and has decided that he’s remembered all he’s ever going to remember,
he turns to Chanyeol. The younger’s hair is a mess, and he’s drooling on Baekhyun’s shoulder, but somehow he still
looks gorgeous. Baekhyun smiles at him and then pushes his hair out of his face. “Hey.”

Chanyeol doesn’t move, just keeps snoring peacefully, using Baekhyun as his pillow. Baekhyun sighs. He doesn’t want
to wake the younger, but one look at the clock on the bedside table tells him that it’s 1:30 in the afternoon, and they
have to checked out of the room by 3:00. He’d rather not pay a late fee.

“Yeol. Babe, wake up.” Baekhyun shifts and removes his numb arm from out under the younger, turning on his side so
that he’s facing the man. He smiles. “Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol smacks his lips together and moves slightly, yawning. It’s adorable, Baekhyun has to bite his lip.

“Hm?”

“Rise and shine, gorgeous.” Chanyeol blinks his eyes open, slightly, and squints at Baekhyun. “What time is it?”
Chanyeol mumbles out, barely coherent. He closes his eyes again and leans into Baekhyun, resting his head right on
their now-shared pillow. Baekhyun runs his fingers through his hair, untangling the knots and trying to smooth it down.
Chanyeol’s bed hair is truly tragic. “About 1:30 in the afternoon. We have to be out of here in an hour and a half.”

Chanyeol groans and rolls over onto his back, stretching. The blankets aren’t even covering him, and Baekhyun finds
that all he’s wearing are his boxers and socks. The shirt didn’t even make it. “I feel like I’m dying.”

“I think that’s going to be all of us today.” Baekhyun chuckles and sits up in the bed, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.
All they have to do is make the 30 minute trip back to Chanyeol’s parents house, where they can sleep all day if they
want, but just thinking about has Baekhyun cringing. He’d rather just stay in the comfortable hotel bed for the rest of
the week, if he’s being honest.

“I don’t remember anything past the line dancing.”

Baekhyun snorts, standing up and beginning his search for his pants. There are articles of clothing strung all over the
room, but Baekhyun knows nothing happened the night before. He’s not even sure he could get it working if he tried,
he was that drunk.

“Wow, I made it past you.” Baekhyun teases, throwing a grin over his shoulder. “It was fun though. They had a
beautiful wedding.”

“Yeah, the wedding was nice.” Baekhyun can detect the smile in Chanyeol’s voice. He grins while he picks his dress
pants up off of the floor and pulls them on, slowly.

“Ours will be better, though.”

Baekhyun freezes, his pants only halfway up his legs. The room goes silent and he turns, his pants mid thigh, staring
at Chanyeol.

“Did I say that out loud?”

Baekhyun nods. Chanyeol buries his head in a pillow.

It’s not like they haven’t talked about it. Getting married, that is. Chanyeol had told him he wanted to ‘do it right’,
anyways. It’s just, they’ve been content. They share an apartment. Chanyeol has been busy with his new producing
job, and Baekhyun has enjoyed watching him transform into a whole new person. They spend all of their time together.
Technically they’re real-engaged, according to Chanyeol’s finally words at The Front Lawn Confessional, but for now,
they’re just been going with the flow. Baekhyun has a ring, because Chanyeol is cheesy like that, but sometimes they
still refer to each other as their boyfriend. Baekhyun honestly has just been expecting Chanyeol to come home with
bridal magazines, and that be that, so when Chanyeol stands up from the bed and comes to kneel in front of him, he’s
a little shocked. Mostly because Chanyeol has hickies littered up and down his body.

So maybe they did do something last night.

“Byun Baekhyun.”

“What are you doing? Stand up.”

“No.” Chanyeol grins. “Baekhyun.”

“What?” Baekhyun’s face is bright red. They’re half naked, Chanyeol is knelt down in front of him, he has no idea
what’s going on.

“Marry me.”

“That’s the plan, babe.” Baekhyun does his nervous chuckle that Chanyeol tells him makes him sound like a dolphin.
“For real. Like, let’s go look at venues tomorrow.”

“I was planning on spending the day in bed with you tomorrow. Plus, we’re still in Sitka.” “Okay, then let’s do that.”
Chanyeol sighs. “But when we get back to New York, let’s go look at venues. You already have a ring, and technically I
already proposed, so let’s get this thing moving.” “Okay.” Baekhyun doesn’t know what else to say. He’d marry
Chanyeol in Vegas in front of a fake Elvis, if that’s what the younger wanted. “Yeah, let’s do it. For real.”

Chanyeol’s smile widens and his ears turn red, before he stands up and wraps Baekhyun in a hug. He spins him
around and it throws Baekhyun back to The Front Lawn Confessional, almost a year beforehand, where everything
went down. He giggles and wraps his arms tightly around his now officially real fiance. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Baekhyun mumbles, moving in for a kiss. Chanyeol happily complies, and they stand there for a few
minutes, Baekhyun still hanging from Chanyeol’s arms. They only pull back when Baekhyun’s eyes snap open and he
jerks away, gasping.

“I have to call Luhan.”

“Are you kidding me?” Chanyeol groans, but lets go of him anyways. Baekhyun quickly paces to his phone (that’s
almost dead) and unlocks it, not even having to dial the number because of course his best friend is his second
speed-dial. Chanyeol just watches with a smug look on his face, still shirtless, still pantsless, still gorgeous. Baekhyun
grins at him.

Luhan picks up on the sixth ring, and he doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, so Baekhyun assumes he needs time
to adjust to the living world and waits patiently.

“Yeah?”

“Bitch. Listen.”

One month later…

Baekhyun has a checklist. He’s possibly the most organized person in his office; of course he has a checklist. They’ve
set a date for the wedding; nine months from now, on November 10th. Chanyeol had argued for a summer wedding,
but Baekhyun refused, didn’t even leave it up for discussion. He was not going to be sweaty with bad hair on his real
wedding day. No way. Chanyeol told him that he’d marry him soaking wet, with just a t shirt and shorts on, but
Baekhyun wasn’t falling for it. So a fall wedding it was.

They’ve picked the wedding party already, which has been the easiest part thus far. The boys, Baekhyun’s brother,
and Chanyeol’s sister. Not a lot to it. They’ve also come up with the budget as well, with the help of the Park’s who’ve
offered to pay for it all. It took a lot of convincing on their part, especially because they already promised the two a
honeymoon, but any protest on Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s part was shut down. There wasn’t a compromise either; the
Parks were paying for it all and that was that. Baekhyun was mad for about a week, but he’s accepted it now. They’ll
just have to get them a really nice gift.

As for the guest list, and finding a planner, that’s all been worked out as well. The guest list was easy, and they just
plan to add people as they come across them. Finding a planner was relatively simple as well, especially after Sehun
basically volunteered himself for the job. He claimed he ‘didn’t have anything better to do’, and he helped with
Kyungsoo and Jongin’s wedding, so Baekhyun trusts him. Surprisingly, he’s good at the job. He hasn’t done much, but
what he has done, he’s done well. So Baekhyun isn’t worried.

The only thing they really haven’t worked out yet that’s on the checklist and Needs To Be Checked Off Now, is the
venue. And that’s only because they cannot agree on anything. Chanyeol wants an outdoor wedding, Baekhyun thinks
that’s the dumbest idea he’s ever heard, they’re severely behind schedule. So that’s why Baekhyun is sitting in his
office, facetiming with Kyungsoo, and trying his best not to cry.

“The fucking woods, Kyungsoo. He wants to get married under a tree like some backwoods, redneck couple. He
probably wants a mudslide and a camo cake, too.”

Kyungsoo laughs. Baekhyun scowls at him.

“I’m sure that’s not what he means when he says he wants a wedding in a forest.” Kyungsoo tries to reason.

Baekhyun ignores him. “The only thing I can think of that’s worse than a wedding in the woods is a hotel ballroom
wedding-reception flip.”

Kyungsoo grimaces. “I can agree with you there.”

It had come as a shock to Baekhyun at first, but surprisingly, him and Kyungsoo make a pretty good pair. Luhan is still
his #1, but whenever he’s having a crisis and Luhan isn’t available, or if he’s ever in need of just another perspective
on something, he calls Kyungsoo. The two of them spend hours on the phone talking each week, and it kind of freaks
Chanyeol out because he thinks the two are plotting against him, but Baekhyun loves it.

“Well, Baek, where do you want to get married?”

“Not in the fucking woods.” Baekhyun replies, and then sighs. “See, that’s the problem. I don’t know, so Chanyeol just
thinks we should go with his idea.”

“Have you guys talked about the barn again?”

Baekhyun scrunches his nose up. “We both shot that one down first thing. Too many memories.” “Understandable.”
Kyungsoo laughs. “Have you guys even thought about any more concepts?” “Chanyeol mentioned the beach.”
Baekhyun shrugs. Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“No, I don’t see you guys as the beachy type.” Baekhyun can agree. “I know it’s kind of like Chanyeol’s idea, but what
about a rustic theme?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Baekhyun begins, “-but I live in New York, have lived in a large city for most of my life,
and wear designer suits to work every day, even though they changed the dress code to business casual, or on
recording days, ‘whatever-the-fuck’.”

“Right.” Kyungsoo nods. “No fairy lights around tree trunks for you.”

“No.” Baekhyun sighs. “And a church won’t work.”

“Jongin and I got married in a church.”

“Chanyeol and I aren’t religious.”

“That might pose a problem, yeah.” Kyungsoo sighs. “Have you pinterested?”

“Who do you think I am?” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Of course I have. Everything looks like a Tumblr fantasy.”

“I hate to tell you this, because you’re one of my best friends, but you’re a bit of a Bridezilla.” Kyungsoo laughs.
Baekhyun scowls at him because he has no right. Baekhyun might not remember Kyungsoo and Jongin’s reception in
great detail, but he sure does remember the chaos that had happened before the actual wedding.

Jongin’s suit was a shade darker than Kyungsoo’s, and yeah, Baekhyun would have been pissed, but he definitely
wouldn’t have driven the rental car to the store and walked in screaming at the cashier about being
incompetent, scaring the poor teenage girl so much that she had started to cry. Chen had to calm her down while the
manager helped a fuming Kyungsoo. Baekhyun just stood in the back recording the entire thing. He was supposed to
be with Jongin, but, well, Luhan had called and he simply couldn’t miss the show.

That wasn’t even the worst part, though. One flower centerpiece was missing from the reception hall and Kyungsoo
had cried about it for an hour. They eventually had to break the ‘no-seeing-the-significant other-before-the-ceremony’
rule and get Jongin to calm him down, because Kyungsoo was so upset to the point that he wanted to call the wedding
off. It was okay though because Jongin, bless his heart, went out and

picked a bouquet of weeds and put them in the middle of the empty table to make Kyungsoo smile. They kept them
there, because really the centerpiece was nowhere to be found, and Tao had laughed so hard that Kyungsoo moved
his nameplate so that he had to sit there. Kris was pissed.

“Don’t talk about being a Bridezilla.” Baekhyun warns, which has Kyungsoo cackling. “Yeah, yeah…” he mumbles. “But
really. You can’t do much else until you have a theme. You have to base your venue off of that.”

“I know. This is why I called you. Use your creative teacher skills and help. me.”

“Fine. Hold on.” Baekhyun watches as Kyungsoo types something out on his computer. “There’s like a list of “Trending
Wedding Themes”. Here, I’ll read them to you, tell me what you think.” Baekhyun nods, and leans back in his chair. He
really hopes none of his bosses come in to check on him, because he’s not doing shit today.

“So the first one is ‘Greenery’.”

“What?”

Kyungsoo turns his laptop towards Baekhyun’s screen. The first thing he sees is an old brick building, the second are
a bunch of weeds that are supposed to replace the flowers. He shakes his head. “No, weeds on the tables was your
thing.”

“Fuck you.” Kyungsoo laughs and turns his laptop back around. He scrolls a little, and Baekhyun sighs. “Garden? It’s
like, in a tent.”

“No.”

Kyungsoo sighs.

“Barn?”

“We’ve been over this.”

“Right. Vintage?”

“Boring.”

“Neutral? It’s, like, based around grays and nudes. Looks very plain.”

“Well, shit, we’re not 80.”

“Neutral with browns and reds? They have a barrel as a centerpiece.”

“Chanyeol said no reds, because it washes him out.”

“He wears red all the time? His hair was red once?”

“I know, I loved it.”

“Whatever. Watercolors?”

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. Kyungsoo turns the laptop around again. Baekhyun drops the eyebrow. “Ugly.”

“I wouldn’t come if that was your theme.” Kyungsoo scrolls. “Boho?”

“If you think I’m hanging a tapestry as a background for the ceremony, and having peace signs as a main decoration,
then you’re crazy.”

“Chanyeol is a free spirit.”

“Chanyeol and his free spirit can kiss my ass. No way.”

“See? Bridezilla.” Kyungsoo laughs. “Ha. Forest?”

“I swear.”

“I’m kidding.” There’s a pause, and then Kyungsoo cocks his head. “Fairy tale?”

“I am not having a princess themed wedding, you’re crazy. I don’t know why I called you, you’re not help-”

“No, wait, it’s not a princess theme. It’s like, very white, hold on.” Kyungsoo turns his laptop around for the third time,
showing Baekhyun the screen. The ‘fairy tale’ theme he’s talking about actually isn’t princess related at all, and is
more based around simple flowers and white decorations and it just looks pretty. Baekhyun smiles.

“This is the one you like? Really?”

“Save that and send it to me.”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.” Baekhyun pulls himself closer to his computer and begins to log on to his own Pinterest account. “Kyungsoo,
oh my god, a white theme.”

“You just said that you didn’t want neutrals because you’re ‘not 80’.”

“White isn’t neutral.” Baekhyun argues. “It’s so pretty, it looks so elegant.”

“Because you and Chanyeol are elegant, yes.”

He and Chanyeol aren’t elegant, but that’s not the point. They could be elegant. Baekhyun wants a White Wedding.

“You’re the best, Kyungsoo.”

“I know.” Kyungsoo smirks. “I supposed I should go, so you can go get Chanyeol?”

“You are correct.” Baekhyun switches back to his video call browser. “I’ll call you later tonight.” “Alright.” Kyungsoo
laughs. “Good luck.”

“Thanks!” Baekhyun waves good bye and then exits out of the screen, going back to his Pinterest boards. Chanyeol is
in a meeting until noon, and it’s only 11:23, so Baekhyun has time to plan. He scrolls through the website and pins any
and everything he finds that he likes, storing it under his ‘Wedding’ board that he’s made private and has effectively
cluttered. He doesn’t mind though, because he’s getting a lot of good ideas, all thoughts of the fucking forest theme
leaving his mind.

Baekhyun doesn’t even have to call Chanyeol to tell him to come to his office when he’s done, he just shows up.
They’re weird like that. Baekhyun honestly wouldn’t rather have it any other way, though. He just smiles when
Chanyeol walks through his door and makes his way behind his desk, dropping his hands onto his shoulders and
grinning.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Pinteresting. How was your meeting?”

“Boring.” Chanyeol bends down and looks at the screen. “Wow, that’s a lot of white.” “Yeah!” Baekhyun looks up, and
pecks Chanyeol on the chin. “Kyungsoo found the idea. It’s, like, just a white theme. I like it.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun doesn’t have to look at Chanyeol to know that he doesn’t like it. He visibly sulks. “Hey, hey, wait. I
don’t hate it.”

“You don’t like it either.”

“Well.” Chanyeol sighs. “It’s just...a little boring.”

Baekhyun nods. He can understand that, even though he really likes it. It isn’t the most creative, but it’s simple.
Baekhyun never wanted anything over-the-top anyways, even though he does have to admit he’s kind of a Bridezilla
(but don’t tell Kyungsoo).

“We could add a pop of color?”

“Hm? Like what?”

“Like maybe coral or-” Baekhyun pauses mid-sentence, his eyes falling on a picture in the middle of his Pinterest
screen. His jaw drops, and Chanyeol squeezes his shoulders, trying to get his attention. Baekhyun, however, ignores
him, and clicks on the picture to enlarge it. He looks at the rest of it, and then clicks on the website it’s linked with. It
brings up a blog post the bride has made, detailing out her wedding and the decorations and concepts they used.
Baekhyun is engrossed the entire time, his jaw never shutting, his ears never paying attention to Chanyeol.

He’s honest to God in love. Chanyeol sighs from behind him.

“Grey and blue?”

“Grey and blue.”

Chanyeol sighs again, but this time he smiles.

“Grey and blue.”

8 month mark…

“I swear, I’m about to throw the camera down and say fuck it!” Luhan yells from a few yards away, glaring at Baekhyun
and Chanyeol. They both freeze, turning towards their friend, who looks murderous. Sehun laughs from off to the side.

“Sorry.” Baekhyun squeeks, literally, and then shifts back to his original position. Chanyeol does the same, taking his
hands from Baekhyun’s sides and placing them on his shoulders instead. Luhan sighs and holds the camera back up.

“All of the pictures I’ve gotten so far are blurry, you guys are actually 5 years old.” he says, taking a picture.
Baekhyun’s pretty sure he wasn’t smiling in it, so he tries again. The camera clicks. “They’re all of you guys laughing,
or tickling each other, or being stupid. I took time off of work to come and do this.”

“Lu, you own the place, no one cares if you’re there or not for the weekend.” Sehun offers from his lawn chair, where
he’s sitting and watching and definitely not helping. “And we came here because we missed our friends, stop being
dramatic.”

“Okay, Mr. I-had-a-5-am-flight-and-hate-them-so-much-let’s-sabotage-their-wedding.” Luhan says back. Sehun

clutches his chest, mock-offended.

“I did not say that!” Baekhyun watches, amused. “I was only grumpy because they didn’t offer us a beverage.”

“Yeah, because it was 5 am.” Luhan lets the camera dangle around his neck. “I’ve gotten enough with this backdrop,
let’s go over to that little pond.”

Baekhyun stands up and then pulls Chanyeol up, leading the younger over to the small pond at their local park.
They’re taking engagement photos, and thank God Luhan can work a camera, or else their wedding invitations
wouldn’t have a picture of them encased in it.

“So, like, just stand there and do something.” Luhan can take pictures, but he can’t direct poses for shit. “Don’t look
dumb.”

Baekhyun cheeses and pinches Chanyeol’s cheeks, Sehun cackles from his lawn chair. Luhan rolls his eyes and takes
the picture anyways. Chanyeol mimics the pose for the next shot, and then they do some weird pose with their arms,
before they get serious and take an actual nice photo. Or at least, Baekhyun thinks it’s nice. He can’t tell, sometimes
Chanyeol smiles so big he looks scary. Baekhyun finds it adorable most of the time.

“Do something else, these are getting repetitive.” Luhan instructs, and Baekhyun groans. He turns to Chanyeol for an
idea, but he finds the younger grinning at him, so he sighs.

“Pick me up.”

“What? No, you’re like twice the size of me. I’ll drop you.”

“No you won’t.” Chanyeol walks forward and throws his arms around Baekhyun’s neck, smirking. “Do it. It’ll be funny.”

“This one isn’t going in the envelope.” Baekhyun says, though he attempts to pick Chanyeol up anyways. He first tries
it bridal style, and is successful for about 3 seconds, until Chanyeol shifts and causes Baekhyun to stumble
backwards. He catches himself, luckily, but then Chanyeol laughs, which causes Baekhyun to laugh, and yeah. It does
downhill from there, literally. Baekhyun trips on the lip of the pond and falls backwards, and he thought they were far
enough away from the pond, but when he hits the water, he realizes that he was very, very wrong. He gasps and gets
water up his nose, but he can’t help but laugh when he resurfaces and stands up. Chanyeol is already standing,
laughing as well, and Baekhyun would be mortified, but it’s just so them that he can’t even be embarrassed.

They pick the one where Baekhyun is crouched low, holding his stomach in laughter, and Chanyeol has his head
thrown back, cackling, while they’re soaking wet in the middle of a park pond, for their ‘Save The Date’ cards. They get
about 30 emails the day after they’re sent out, asking what the hell is wrong with them.

7 month mark…

Chanyeol is late, and Baekhyun is fuming. He’s sitting in this tiny bakery shop waiting room with a plastic cup of water,
waiting on his fiance to show up for their cake tasting, and quite frankly he’s fed up. They were supposed to start 30
minutes ago. Chanyeol is sleeping on the couch until the wedding.

Finally, finally the younger walks through the front door, looking both apologetic and out of breath. Baekhyun stands up
and glares at him.
“There was an emergency at work and-”

“I don’t care.” Baekhyun spits out. He barely glances Chanyeol’s way when he walks past him, stalking up to the front
counter. He waves the lady that runs the shop, Georgia, down.

“Georgia. He’s here, I’m so sorry for keeping you.” he explains, jabbing a thumb behind him to point at Chanyeol.
Georgia smiles and waves her hand at them.

“Oh, it’s not a problem, sweetheart. You guys can come on back now.”

Baekhyun nods and follows Georgia down a small hallway, until they come up to a little room that has a table and
some chairs in the middle of it. He takes a seat, ignoring Chanyeol when the younger pulls his chair out for them.

Every single person Baekhyun had talked to had recommended this little bakery on the outskirts of town, saying
they’ve never had a better cake in their life, or various versions of it. Baekhyun has been selective thus far, but he
knew he couldn’t pass this one up. So he really doesn’t need Chanyeol fucking it up for them by being late.

“Well, boys, I took your requests into consideration, and I have 10 different cakes for you to try today.” Georgia smiles
at them, setting a notepad down on the table and then reaching behind her for the first two plates. The slices are huge
and Baekhyun, upon seeing them, already starts planning his workout for later that night. He can’t get fat before his
wedding.

“The first one I have for you today is just a straight chocolate cake.” Georgia hands them the plates. Chanyeol grins
after grabbing his, and Baekhyun has to bite his lip to keep from smiling, because he’s still mad at him.

After thanking Georgia, Baekhyun takes a bite, and even though he’s never been a huge fan of chocolate, he likes the
cake. It’s moist, and the icing is to die for. He could do with a layer or two. They try a lemon cake after that, which
Baekhyun likes, but Chanyeol doesn’t. Baekhyun scowls at him for a solid two minutes. Then they’re given a red velvet
cake, which they both decide will somehow be apart of the cake, it’s that good. So far all of the cakes have been good,
Baekhyun wonders if they can do 10 layers and just include them all.

But then they’re given an orange flavored cake, or something, and they both hate it, so Baekhyun reduces it to 9
layers. Which then turns into 8 layers, because only Chanyeol likes the pecan praline one. Baekhyun can hardly finish
his bite, pecan should never be a cake flavor.

8 turns into 7, and 7 turns into 6, and 6 turns into 5, and soon they only have 4 flavors they really like. They agreed on
a three tier cake, though, so after debating it for a few moments they decide on doing one layer red velvet, one layer
marble, and one layer cookies and cream because Chanyeol wouldn’t budge on it. It’s the weirdest cake Baekhyun
has probably ever heard of, but it works. Lot’s of variety.

They start on the design after that, which Baekhyun already has drawn out (to his best ability) because he has a vision
and it must be right. Chanyeol just sits back and watches, an amused look on his face when he offers his two cents
every once in awhile.

Baekhyun first saw the silhouette cake on Twitter months ago, and he instantly fell in love. Chanyeol liked the idea too,
once Baekhyun explained it. It tells a story, and isn’t like the stereotypical wedding cakes, with flowers and piping all
over it. The first tier will have their silhouettes during the wedding, the second will have them depicting the
engagement, and the third will have The Front Lawn Confessional scene, mostly because Baekhyun is a sucker for
romantics. Georgia loves the idea and immediately sketches her own version of it, which Baekhyun likes much better,
and then brings them back out to the front counter to give them their invoice.

It’s expensive. They’re feeding a lot of people, so of course it is. Still, though, Baekhyun chokes at the total. Chanyeol
just takes the piece of paper and stuffs it into his jacket pocket. Georgia sends them on their way with a couple of
treats and a promise that she’ll make them the best wedding cake ever. Baekhyun is convinced, so he doesn’t try to
debate the price.

“I think it’ll look good.” Chanyeol offers when they walk out of the small bakery. He holds the door open for Baekhyun,
but Baekhyun barely glances at him, because he’s petty.

They walk down the street to their respective cars in silence, not even holding hands while they go. Chanyeol glances
at Baekhyun a few times, but Baekhyun just stares forward, his face set in a scowl. Eventually, though, once they’re in
the community parking lot and have reached their cars, Chanyeol reaches his boiling point and corners Baekhyun. He
pins him up against the side of his car, encasing him in his arms, and scrunches his eyebrows up. Baekhyun tries to
squirm away but Chanyeol is twice his size, so. “What’s your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.” Baekhyun mumbles, his eyes looking anywhere but at Chanyeol. “Yes you do.” Chanyeol
rolls his eyes. “Are you seriously mad at me for getting caught up at work?” Baekhyun glares at him. Chanyeol sighs.

“A sound board broke, and one of the new guys lost all of his work. I had to stay and help him try to retrieve some of
it.”

“You knew we had an appointment, though.” Baekhyun says. “Luckily her next appointment dropped, or we would
have had to reschedule. It was hard enough to get in there in the first place.” “I’m sorry.” Chanyeol does look genuinely
sorry, so Baekhyun sighs. “I tried my best to get there as soon as I could, but I couldn’t leave him hanging.”

“Why must you be a good person?” Baekhyun throws his head back and groans, because of all things Chanyeol could
have be doing to make him late, it was helping a fellow co-worker that he didn’t have to even help in the first place.

Chanyeol just laughs, and then wraps Baekhyun up into a tight hug.

“Besides, you shouldn’t really be complaining, remember all those times you kept me waiting at home while you
finished something up at the office? I think that’s far worse.”

Baekhyun knows exactly what Chanyeol is talking about, and his face flushes. He pushes the younger off of him and
stalks to his car, ignoring the cackles coming from behind him.

Yeah, Chanyeol is sleeping on the couch.

6 month mark…

“That one is ugly.”

“It’s purple.”

“Exactly.” Baekhyun moves down the line. “I’m not spending any amount of money on a purple wedding band.”

“You’re no fun.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, and peers down at the next set of wedding bands. So far all Chanyeol has done is point out
the colorful ones, and force Baekhyun to try on rings with large diamonds attached to them. Baekhyun wants to shove
them all up his ass. He hopes the silver bands in front of them will somehow appease to his fiance, because he’s
getting tired.

“What about this one?” It’s wooden and Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol, enough to the point where Chanyeol sighs and
sets the band back down.

They search for a few more minutes, in silence, until Chanyeol tugs on Baekhyun’s arm and points to a ring under the
glass. Baekhyun doesn’t know which one he’s referring to for a second, but then he sees it, and groans.

“Babe.” he begins, standing up and trying to get the image of the royal blue band out of his mind. “I love you so much,
but you have horrible taste.”

“I beg to differ, because I picked you, and-” Baekhyun slaps a hand over Chanyeol’s mouth before he can continue,
blushing. The jeweler is staring at them with an amused look on her face. Baekhyun wants to crawl into a hole and die.

“Chanyeol, I noticed that you like color, and Baekhyun, you’re more for a classic band. Would you two like to see some
that include both aspects?” the lady asks, a smile plastered on her face. Baekhyun sighs and nods, thinking that it
can’t hurt to look at something different. He let’s the woman lead them over to another case of rings, and then she
leaves them to it, watching as they look at all of the casings. The rings are all unconventional, but a few of them catch
Baekhyun’s eye, so he’s not completely disatisfied.

Chanyeol, however, is in heaven. Literally. He grins at every ring he sees. Baekhyun ends up watching him more than
he looks at the rings, because it’s amusing. Chanyeol really hasn’t chosen much of what’s going into the wedding, he’s
just gone along with whatever Baekhyun has picked out, so it’s almost refreshing to see the younger so excited about
something.

“Baek, come here.” Chanyeol waves for Baekhyun to join him and Baekhyun goes happily, peering down at the glass
to where Chanyeol is pointing. There are a ton of rings, but Baekhyun immediately knows which ones Chanyeol is
talking about, because they’re the only ones with color on them.

“The red and silver one is cool, or the-” Chanyeol stops mid sentence, which causes Baekhyun to look up at him.
“Look at that one.”

Baekhyun follows Chanyeol’s finger and finds a brushed silver band, with a rose gold outer lining. He smiles. He
actually kind of likes it.

“This one.”

“This one? Are you sure?”

Chanyeol stands up and looks at Baekhyun, smiling. Baekhyun can’t help but smile back. “Yeah.”

“It’s nice.” Baekhyun admits. “Are you sure that’s your favorite?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then let’s get them ordered.” Baekhyun supposes that not everything can be exactly his way. Chanyeol is clearly
shocked, though, but he grins nonetheless, waving the jeweler down. The final price has Baekhyun cringing, but
Chanyeol’s proud mass-text he sends to all of their friends makes it worth it.

5 month mark…

Baekhyun stares in horror at the monstrosity standing in front of him. It’s just Yixing, but still, he’s horrified.

“No.”

“It’s not even-”

“No.”

Chanyeol chuckles from beside him. The poor shop attendant sighs. Yixing rolls his eyes and makes his way back to
the dressing rooms.

Baekhyun absolutely refuses to have his groomsmen wear canvas sack vests at his wedding. He’d rather die.

“It really wasn’t that bad.”

“I will call off this wedding.” Baekhyun warns, glaring up at Chanyeol. Chanyeol laughs and just shrugs, throwing his
arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder.

They’re sitting on a small couch in the middle of the tuxedo shop they found in the nicer part of New York. Yixing, and
Joonmyeon, and Luhan and Sehun are all acting as their models for the day while they try on Chanyeol and
Baekhyun’s choices for the groomsmen outfits. Everyone else couldn’t make it for the weekend, but honestly,
Baekhyun is okay with it. They have their measurements, and the shop is too small for the lot of them anyways.

“Baekhyun’s second choice.” Luhan announces as he steps out of his dressing room, walking to stand in front of the
mirrored wall. Baekhyun watches him as he goes. He cocks his head.

It doesn’t look as good on Luhan as it had looked in the magazine. That might have something to do with the fact that
his best friend is a stick, but the point still stands. He sighs.

“No.”

“What? Sehun said it looked fine.”

“Sehun would say you look fine if you were wearing a trash bag.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “It’s too bulky.”

Luhan gives him a weird look. Chanyeol groans.

“What? I’m being honest.” Baekhyun could stick them in bridesmaid dresses if he really wanted to, if they’re going to
keep complaining. “The wedding party is primarily men, save for Yoona, and I don’t want you guys to be dressed in the
same attire as Chanyeol and I. No offence.”

“None taken.” Luhan grumbles, trudging back to his dressing room.

They try on a few more outfits after that, but nothing really stands out to Baekhyun. Chanyeol admits that he doesn’t
like many of them either, even though he groans every time Baekhyun makes a negative comment. By the sixth outfit,
Baekhyun is convinced his groomsmen are just going to have to show up naked. And man, that would be horrifying.

“Mr. Byun? Mr. Park?” the attendant says after Baekhyun has sent Joonmyeon backs to his dressing room for the
fourth time, after cringing at his outfit. Baekhyun lifts his head and looks at the younger girl, sighing.

“I, um, have an idea. If you wanted my input, that is.”

Baekhyun’s not sure why she’s taken this long to speak up. Clearly they’re struggling. “Yeah, go for it.” Chanyeol
answers for him.

“They keep trying on traditional suits. Which is fine, but you mentioned that you wanted them all to look different than
you two? How about a vest set, without a coat?”

Baekhyun considers it. The canvas vest was horrendous, but he suppose if they tried something on that was made of
different material, it could possibly work. He nods.

“Awesome! I’ll go pull some things from the back rack.” And then she’s off, taking the failed outfits with her as she
disappears. Baekhyun leans back into the couch, back into Chanyeol, and sighs. “We’re never going to find anything.”

“She’s going to pull more?” Chanyeol replies, confused. He tugs Baekhyun closer. “We’ll find something, promise. We
won’t leave until we do.”

“Hope they can provide dinner, then.” Baekhyun says. It’s going on 5 and he’s starving. He hasn’t eaten anything since
lunch, at the small cafe down the street from their apartment because Sehun was dying to try it. Unfortunately, it
wasn’t very good. Baekhyun’s been chewing on mints and gum to satisfy his hunger every since.

“We’ll go get food after this.” Chanyeol laughs. Baekhyun hopes he isn’t humoring him; he could honestly eat his entire
arm, he’s that hungry.

The attendant comes back five minutes later with a stack of outfits in her arms, looking bewildered though she’s still
smiling. Baekhyun sits back up and watches as she hands one bag to each of his friends. “I pulled four different
options, that way each person could try one on.” The boys all go back to their dressing rooms as the attendant
explains. “I think you’ll like them.”

Baekhyun hopes so.

They wait about ten minutes, until Yixing appears from his room, clad in a pair of pants, a nice shirt, and a vest. The
dress shirt is white, but the pants and vest are a faint grey color. The tie is light blue. Baekhyun definitely doesn’t hate
it.

“So?” Yixing does a little twirl, smiling. “I like it.”

“It’s not bad.” Baekhyun hums. “But I want to see the others as well.”

Joonmyeon comes out next, and his outfit is similar to Yixing’s, but it has it’s differences. The pants and vest are dark
grey, while the shirt is blue, and the tie is a navy color. Baekhyun doesn’t like it as much as Yixing’s outfit.

“Next.”

Chanyeol laughs quietly next to him while Sehun emerges from his room. Baekhyun doesn’t even let him get to the
mirror.

“No.”

“Why?”

Baekhyun just rolls his eyes. The vest and pants are navy blue, the shirt is white, the bowtie is grey. It’s hideous, and it
washes Sehun out. Poor Kyungsoo would look like a ghost.

“Fine.” Sehun turns around. “Luhan, you’re up.”

Baekhyun is already expecting to have to tell the attendant that Yixing’s outfit is the one, because each outfit after that
has gotten increasingly worse, but then Luhan walks out and Baekhyun’s heart stops. It’s like he’s fallen in love all
over again.

“Yes.”

“Yeah, I like this one.” Chanyeol says from beside him.

“Are you sure?” Luhan looks like he doesn’t really agree, but Baekhyun couldn’t give a damn about his opinion at this
point. He’ll stuff him into it himself if he has to.

“Positive.” Baekhyun turns to the attendant, smiling. “We’ll take 10 of this, please.” The attendant looks overwhelmed
for a moment, but then she sighs and nods and waves them to the front desk to get their quota.
Baekhyun never expected to like, let alone love, jean-colored-vests, but, well, there’s a first for everything.

4 month mark…

“No-go list?”

“I can’t think of anything.” Baekhyun answers honestly. He really doesn’t care what they play at the reception, as long
as it isn’t country. Chanyeol agrees, though, so he knows he doesn’t have to mention it. “How about Get Low? Some
Lil Jon?”

“Fuck you, I’m calling the wedding off.”

3 month mark…

“Wow, you’re cutting it close!” the lady at the front desk says brightly, typing away at her computer. Baekhyun scowls
at her.

“I couldn’t fit the appointment in before now.”

“Busy man, I understand.” The lady turns and finally faces Baekhyun, smiling. “Your fiance's outfit was lovely, I’m sure
yours will be just as nice.”

Baekhyun scowls again. He doesn’t say anything, just watches as the lady (Shannon) flags down her poor intern. The
young man comes and stands next to her, grinning.

“Peter, take Mr. Byun to his fitting room and help him into his suit, yes?” she instructs. Peter nods and then ushers
Baekhyun towards the back, smiling the entire way. Baekhyun sighs.

He had to miss the actual fitting appointment, with Chanyeol and Mrs. Park and Halmi, who had flown down for the
weekend, because of an emergency at work. Like, their-boss-was-sick-and-someone-had-to-stay
and-if-Baekhyun-didn’t-he’d-get-fired kind of emergency. So, here he is, in the small shop during his lunch break on a
Tuesday, trying on his suit. He’s tired and grumpy and just wants Chanyeol to be with him, but things never work out in
his favor, so he’s alone.

Once he’s in his fitting room, and has his suit hung up on a rack next to him, he begins to declothe. He and Chanyeol
are wearing the same thing, and he really kind of misses the younger (they’ve been apart from each other for about 45
minutes), so once he has his shirt off he FaceTimes him and places his phone on the bench beside him.

Chanyeol picks up on the fourth ring.

“What’s up?”

“Hi.” Baekhyun pokes his head into the frame. He’s practically naked. Chanyeol raises his eyebrows. “I’m at the suit
shop.”

“I can see that. Have you tried it on yet?”

“No.” Baekhyun picks up the pants, and begins to tug them on. “How’s work?”

“Same as when you left.” Chanyeol seems occupied with something on his computer, so Baekhyun finishes tugging up
his pants and then leans back into the frame.
“I’m basically naked on your phone screen, and you can’t even pay me any attention?” he jokes. Chanyeol doesn’t
even look at the phone screen, just continues to type.

“I see you naked every night.” he finishes whatever he’s doing, and then pulls his phone closer, his face appearing on
Baekhyun’s screen. “I was replying to the front office. I had to cancel a recording session.” “Why?” Baekhyun takes the
dress shirt out of the bag and shrugs it on, careful to button all of the buttons with their right pair.

“It was the weekend of the wedding.”

“Ah.” That doesn’t need much of an explanation.

“Does it fit?”

“Does what fit?” Baekhyun takes out the tie and the coat, putting those on as well. He takes a few seconds to tie the
tie, and when Chanyeol speaks next, Baekhyun can practically hear the eye roll. “The suit.”

“Oh! No, it’s way too big.” Baekhyun looks at himself in the mirror, and scowls. He’s swimming in the outfit. He likes the
outfit as a whole. It’s basically a reverse of the groomsmen outfits, with the coat being the same color as the vests of
everyone else. There’s a light grey vest, though, and a different colored tie, so they stick out. Baekhyun really likes it.

He grabs for his phone and switches the camera around so that it’s facing the mirror. “Look.”

Chanyeol looks up at him, and smiles.

“You look like a puppy.”

“That’s rude.” Baekhyun sighs. “After altercations, do you think it’ll look okay?”

“Yes.” Chanyeol doesn’t offer much else, and Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“You’re talkative today.”

“Sorry.” Chanyeol looks back at the phone, which now has Baekhyun’s face splayed across it again. “Today is just a
busy day. I’m kind of stressed.”

Baekhyun understands. He has way too many of those days. He’ll have to cock him something nice for dinner when
they get home. Something other than a frozen meal, or take out.

“Baek?”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun peers down at the younger. Chanyeol is grinning at him.

“You look good.” Chanyeol bites his lip. “It’ll look even better on the floor of the hotel room after the reception, though.”

“You’re disgusting.” and Baekhyun hangs up.

8 weeks to go…

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun sits straight up in their bed, panting. He’s been on Pinterest for the past two hours, and how
could he forget.

Chanyeol splutters and rolls over, having been woken up in the most unconventional way. Baekhyun will feel bad
about it later.
“What?”

“We don’t know any small children.”

“You’re right.” Chanyeol groans, and throws an arm over his eyes. “Why is this a problem?” “We don’t have a flower
girl or a ring bearer.”

“I’ve been to weddings where they don’t have either, and everything still turns out okay.” Chanyeol sounds like he’s
annoyed. “Please get off of Pinterest and go to bed.”

“No.” Baekhyun scowls. “I have to come up with an alternative tonight.”

The next day, Baekhyun walks through the front door holding two leashes, attached to two different dogs. He watches
as Chanyeol jumps up off of the couch, his eyes wild.

“Where did you get them?”

“The pound.” Baekhyun says. He had seen the german shepherd first, and fell in love. The small chihuahua was an
afterthought, but the poor thing was on the kill list, so Baekhyun couldn’t leave without him. He about beat the worker,
too.

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol groans, walking towards the three of them. The german shepherd barks at him. Chanyeol
nearly jumps into the wall. The chihuahua pees.

“She-” Baekhyun points to the larger dog, “-is named Bella. He-” Baekhyun points to the other one, “- didn’t have a
name when he came into the shelter, so I named him Yoda.”

“Jesus, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol slowly bends down and offers his hand to Yoda, sighing when the small dog doesn’t
bark or nip at him. “You’re the embodiment of the dog lady memes. One day I’m going to come home and there are
going to be 40 dogs in our living room, and then we’re going to have to sell our apartment because our entire
paychecks will have to go to dog food.”

Baekhyun grins.

“Oh well. At least I got us a flower girl and ring bearer.”

Chanyeol throws a shoe at him.

5 weeks to go…

“You haven’t RSVP’d.”

“I’m in the wedding, asshole. I’m coming.”

“I don’t have your RSVP.”

Tao stares at Baekhyun through the computer screen, his jaw slack. Baekhyun raises an eyebrow. “I’m coming.”

“I need your RSVP in the mail by tomorrow.”

Tao looks behind him, almost as if he’s looking for PUNK’d cameras, and then glances back at the screen. “Chanyeol!”
Chanyeol lifts his head from where he’s sprawled out across the couch.

“Your fiance is a Bridezilla.”

“I know. I’ve learned to just go with it.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“Send your RSVP.”

3 weeks to go…

“Who’s idea was this?!” Baekhyun screams, his hair flapping in the wind while he swats one of Chanyeol’s straps out
of his eyes. He’s clinging on to the younger as if his life depends on it, which if he’s being honest, he’s pretty sure it
does. Chanyeol just laughs at him.

“Yours!” Yixing yells back, as they strap him onto the front of some random guy. Baekhyun screams again; the plane
has just titled.

“When?!”

Except Baekhyun knows exactly when. It was last night, at the strip club (they’re all gay as fuck, he doesn’t know why
they were there), when he was drunk off of his ass, singing along to a Britney Spears song while he clung to Luhan.
Chanyeol was busy getting a lap dance from some girl with hardly any pants on and Baekhyun didn’t even care.

He’s drunk now, as well, and his previous badass, I-can-do-anything attitude has been replaced with fear. He’s going
to die. His wedding is three weeks away and he isn’t going to be there for it because he’ll be splattered across some
portion of the earth.

“Last night!” Yixing yells back. There were only six of them that wanted to skydive, and everyone besides him,
Chanyeol, and Yixing have gone. Minseok laughed the entire time. Chen screamed bloody murder, and clung on to the
inside of the plane before finally one of the workers threw him off. Luhan cried. Yixing is only smiling, acting as if he’s
having the time of his life. Baekhyun can’t relate.

“See you down there, boys!” he calls, before him and his attendant jump off of the ledge of the plane. The nerves don’t
get better with each person, as Baekhyun had suspected. They get worse. He watches as Yixing gets smaller and
smaller, and then shrinks back into the plane, trembling. He’s yet to let go of Chanyeol.

“Who’s next?” the worker asks, and it’s clear that he’s getting tired of dealing with all of them. Baekhyun doesn’t feel
bad for him. He throws people out of a plane for a living.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun screams, and then pushes the younger forward. “And then fly me back down to the ground!”

“Sorry, Baek, but you’re next.” Chanyeol laughs. He’s not nearly as drunk as Baekhyun is when he nudges him
forward. Baekhyun screeches. He’d rather get buried alive.

“No!” But they’re already strapping him to another man. He’s pretty sure he blacks out, because the next thing he
remembers is standing on the ledge of the plane, staring down at the world, and crying. He can hear Chanyeol
laughing from behind him. He wonders how much the younger values his life.

“This is the worst bachelor party weekend ever!” he screams as he’s pushed out of the plane. He’s still crying. The
wind hurts his face. He’s positive Chanyeol is still laughing at him.
1 week to go…

“It feels weird.” Baekhyun says, swishing his feet around in the water. He’s sitting in a massage chair and currently, it
feels like someone is fisting his asshole.

“You’re telling me.” Luhan groans from beside him. He doesn’t look like he’s in a better state. The only reason he and
Luhan are in the small nail shop is because a Pinterest board told him to. He’s almost positive Chanyeol does not care
what his nails look like, but something about being extra makes Baekhyun happy. His cuticles were gross anyways.

Their hands are already done; their nails were just shaped and a clear coat was put on because the small Chinese
woman insisted. Baekhyun hardly understood anything she said, but Luhan and her had a nice conversation while he
sat in silence. Now they’re waiting for the feet people, whatever they’re called, and Baekhyun is uncomfortable. The
massage chair part that was previously in his ass is now making it’s way up his back, and he’s not sure if he’s going to
be able to move when they’re done.

Soon enough they’re attended to, and after some explanation from Luhan, the two working on their feet (Baekhyun
praises them, he could never), congratulate him on his wedding. By the end of it Baekhyun has told the entire plan to
the two strangers, and the older women sitting around him, and has gained quite the fan club. One of them tears up
because she’s so happy that gay people are finally allowed to get married. Baekhyun thinks it’s kind of overdue, and
he’s positive the woman is overreacting, but he thanks her anyways.

After they pay and head out the door, they pick a restaurant to go to for lunch because they’re both starving and don’t
have to meet up with the wedding photographer for another two hours. They walk down the street in silence until
Luhan speaks up, admiring his nails.

“That was the gayest thing I’ve ever done. I feel so girly.”

“That’s sexist.”

“You were thinking it.”

48 hours before…

Baekhyun is crying because he and Chanyeol are sitting on their bed, Chanyeol is wearing a cheap t shirt that says
‘I’m Going To Marry The Shit Out Of You’ on it, and he’s holding a scrap book he’s made that says ‘100 Reasons Why
I Love You’ on the front.

The younger is just smiling while he watches his fiance have a mental break down. “Wha- I…”

“Well, open it.” Chanyeol chuckles, thrusting the book in Baekhyun’s direction. “I spent forever on it.” Baekhyun takes
the book and flips it open, staring down at the first page. There’s just a picture, a selfie Chanyeol took of the two of
them on the flight back from Sitka the first time. Baekhyun remembers it distinctly; he yelled at Chanyeol for a solid five
minutes after he took it, because he looked awful in it. The picture is still bad, but Baekhyun can’t help but grin at it.

The next page starts the countdown, a big ‘100’ plastered across the top. Underneath it is a picture of Baekhyun
sleeping, and the caption says ‘you drool all over me when you sleep, and it’s cute’. “I knew we were going to get
married after leaving Sitka, so I’ve been kind of...planning this out, and taking pictures as I go.”

Baekhyun reaches over and kisses the younger, before going back to the book.

Each page has a unique caption, and a picture to go along with it. ‘You always leave the cap half-on when you use the
milk’. ‘Your shampoo is my favorite scent in the world’. ‘You’re mean to dumb people’. ‘You love

your job more than anything’. Baekhyun’s tears don’t stop as he goes. By the time he gets to the last page, his head
hurts.

When he flips to it, he first sees a gold number 1 on the top, with the picture Chen had taken from their first bachelor
party pasted in the middle of it. Underneath it it simply reads ‘You’re Byun Baekhyun’, and Baekhyun can’t help it when
he chokes on a sob. He sets the scrapbook down and climbs towards the younger, wrapping his arms around him and
peppering his face with kisses. Chanyeol laughs. “You like it?”

Baekhyun scoffs. “I love it. Thank you so much.” Baekhyun places one last kiss on Chanyeol’s mouth. “My present
isn’t even half that good, now I feel bad.”

“You could give me a log and I wouldn’t care.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes. Baekhyun bites his lip, but he’s kind of nervous,
so he slowly reaches for his own gift on the other side of the bed. It’s wrapped, but he hands it to Chanyeol, holding
his breath.

“I know we said we wouldn’t spend money on each other, but…”

“Baekhyun.”

“It was supposed to be a joke at first, but I kind of liked some of the shots, so…” Chanyeol tears through the packaging
as Baekhyun sighs. When he finally sees what it is, he doesn’t move, and Baekhyun gets nervous all over again.

“You didn’t.”

“I did.”

Chanyeol looks up, his eyes glazed over. Baekhyun doesn’t know how to take that, so he gulps. “You...did a boudoir
shoot.”

Baekhyun nods, watching as Chanyeol slowly opens the book. The photoshoot really had started out as a joke. But
then he liked a lot of the shots of himself, and figured Chanyeol would like them as well, so he started taking it
seriously and made an entire book out of it. Apparently Chanyeol does like it, because when Baekhyun glances up at
him, the younger is grinning.

“You’re beautiful.” he finally says, which has Baekhyun blushing all over. “I’m the luckiest man in the world, oh my
God.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Baekhyun chuckles. Chanyeol just rolls his eyes, and flips through the last couple of pages in
the book. When he’s done he sets the book down on the comforter and crawls towards Baekhyun, grinning. Baekhyun
holds his breath.

“I.” he begins, placing a kiss on the side of Baekhyun’s jaw. “Am.” Another, this time on his nose. “So.” One eyelid.
“Fucking.” The other. “Lucky.” His mouth. Baekhyun shudders.

“To be marrying the sexiest man on earth.” Chanyeol pushes Baekhyun onto his back and climbs on top of him, his
eyes dark. Baekhyun shudders.

Yeah, me too, he thinks.

24 hours before…

“You’re going to be fine.” Baekhyun says, running a hand up and down Chanyeol’s back. Chanyeol just glances at him
nervously. Baekhyun tries not to laugh.

They’re standing in the middle of the airport, waiting for Baekhyun’s older brother and his wife to arrive. Baekhyun’s
excited, he hasn’t seen his brother since his own wedding. Chanyeol, however, is not. He’s sweating, and jumps every
time the voice over the intercom speaks. Baekhyun’s glad he got out of the awkward meeting-the-family experience
(mostly because the first time wasn’t taken seriously), because Chanyeol looks like he’s about to pass out.

They’ve been waiting about 30 minutes when the intercom finally lets them know that the plane has landed, and that
the passengers are making their way towards the baggage claim. Baekhyun’s not really nervous to see his brother,
he’s more nervous about Chanyeol meeting him, but he still sighs. They talk sometimes, but not a lot. He’s missed the
older.

Not even 10 minutes later passengers start filling the area, crowding the space and causing Baekhyun and Chanyeol
to have to back up. Baekhyun’s short, of course, so he can’t see over the heads of all of the other people. Chanyeol
really doesn’t know what Baekbeom looks like, so they just have to stand there and wait until they can sort through the
crowd.

Which takes forever, but eventually Baekhyun sees his brother’s face in the sea of people, and a smile breaks out on
his face. He grabs Chanyeol’s hand and tugs the younger forward, making his way through the crowd until he comes
up on the other. Hayoon, Baekbeom’s wife, spots them first, and her face splits into a grin.

“Baekhyun!” she screeches, and practically runs over towards him. Baekhyun drops Chanyeol’s hand and immediately
engulfs the woman in his arms, grinning into her neck. He’s always loved Hayoon, he’s glad Baekbeom found her.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you.” she mumbles, and Baekhyun can feel her tears on his cheek. He doesn't mind though.

He pulls away and smiles at her, patting her shoulder.

“You too.” he manages; he’s a little emotional himself. He then turns to his brother, finding the older smiling at the two
of them, and sighs.

“I missed you, idiot.” Baekbeom says, and then moves in to deliver his own hug. Baekhyun laughs and returns the
hug, gripping his brother close and tight.

They pull apart after a few seconds and Baekhyun suddenly remembers that Chanyeol is there, so he turns to the
younger and grins, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Chanyeol goes reluctantly, and offers Hayoon and
Baekbeom hesitant smiles. Baekhyun will have to make fun of him for it later.

“Guys, this is Chanyeol.” Baekhyun doesn’t have to explain who he is, Chanyeol is all he talks about these days.
Hayoon and Baekbeom smile at him, before Hayoon steps forward and pulls him into a hug. Chanyeol’s handsy, but
usually not with strangers, so he stands rigid for a few seconds before he hugs her back. He’s then pulled into a
handshake by Baekbeom, and he looks like he’s about ready to throw up, which has Baekhyun biting back a smile.

“Nice to meet you, we’ve heard a lot about you.” Baekbeom says, grinning. Chanyeol stares at him.

“Um.” he mutters. “Same.”

Baekhyun snorts. Hayoon hides her smile behind her hand. Baekbeom smirks.

They start walking towards the entrance after that, Baekhyun carting Hayoon’s luggage, Baekbeom dragging his own.
Chanyeol stays stiff besides Baekhyun’s side. He doesn’t say a word the entire time, just holds Baekhyun’s hand and
drags him towards the car. Halfway there Baekbeom speaks up from behind them, and Baekhyun has to hold his
breath because his brother’s humor reminds him mostly of Chen’s.
“Baekhyun, you weren’t lying. His ass is great.”

Hayoon snickers. Baekhyun flushes. Chanyeol walks faster.

THE BIG DAY…

Baekhyun’s never really had a problem with crowds. He’s a natural performer, so audiences don’t bother him. If it gets
awkward, he’s found that he can ignore them all, and continue what he’s doing. He considers it a talent.

Right now though? He’s panicking. His legs are wobbly, and his heart is beating extremely fast, and he feels like he’s
going to throw up. He doesn’t know what to do. They didn’t even invite that many people.

He’s standing behind Luhan, who’s standing behind Baekbeom, who’s standing behind Tao, who’s standing behind
Kyungsoo, who’s standing behind Joonmyeon, who’s standing behind Chen. And then there’s Bella, with a flower
crown on, because Baekhyun was not about to put his large dog into a dress. Yoda is wearing a top hat, but he’s with
Chanyeol.

Halmi and Mrs. Park have already been walked down the aisle by Mr. Park. The officiant is standing at the front, his
arms crossed. Baekhyun can see them all. They can probably see him. He hopes his trembling isn’t obvious.

The somber, slow music (Baekhyun didn’t choose it) keeps playing in the background while the bridal party begins to
make their way down the aisle, one by one. Chen with Minseok (who didn’t complain at all, Baekhyun still doesn’t
know if they’re dating), Joonmyeon with Yixing, Kyungsoo with Jongin, Tao with Kris, Baekbeom with Yoona, Luhan
with Sehun. Then Luhan squats down at the end of the aisle and waves Bella and Yoda forward. The crowd coos at
them. Baekhyun tears up because they’ve only had them for 3 months, but his babies are beautiful.

And then the music suddenly changes to ‘ Here Comes The Bride’ because Halmi had insisted (Baekhyun can see her
laughing from her seat), and Baekhyun takes a deep breath, glancing to his side.

He can’t see Chanyeol. There’s a big ass fucking column blocking his view. It’s really killing the romantic mood, so
Baekhyun picks up his pace, and quickly makes his way down his aisle. They opted for the V-shaped two aisle
ceremony, because Baekhyun didn’t want to be ‘handed away’ by anyone, and neither did Chanyeol. So here they are,
walking down two separate aisles like some type of dramatic movie.

When he gets to the end of the aisle he turns his head again, and this time, finally sees Chanyeol. He’s already seen
him, when they took pictures together earlier, but the younger still knocks his breath away. Baekhyun only grabs for his
hands and ignores whatever the officiant says in favor of staring at Chanyeol. Which proves to be a mistake, because
next thing he knows, Chanyeol is nudging him with his foot and the sea of people in front of them are laughing.

“Huh?” he says, turning to look at the officiant. The man smiles at him.

“I asked if you’re ready to accept each other in marriage.”

“Oh. Definitely.” That earns more laughs, and Baekhyun thinks that they’re off to a good start.

The officiant then greets everyone, and introduces Baekhyun and Chanyeol to the crowd. Baekhyun thinks it’s
unnecessary, because they invited everyone personally, but he goes with it. He ignores him mostly, anyways, instead
just rubs his thumbs over Chanyeol’s and smiles at the younger.

“When asked what reading they wanted me to read for the ceremony, both Baekhyun and Chanyeol told me they didn’t
care, and to just do something quick and standard because they wanted to be married already.” the officiant explains,
adding a chuckle. The crowd howls with laughter; Baekhyun and Chanyeol flush in embarrassment. That wasn’t
exactly what they had said, but close enough.

“I spoke with Baekhyun’s brother, Baekbeom, and he provided me with a reading that he thinks fits these two’s
relationship very well. It’s an excerpt from one of Baekhyun’s favorite books as a child, The Velveteen Rabbit, and I
wanted to share it with you all today.”

Baekhyun’s heart stops while the officiant brings out a piece of paper from his pocket. He has no idea what to expect,
but the mere mention of the book brings tears to his eyes. His mother used to read it to him before bed every night, it
was the only thing that would put him to sleep.

The officiant clears his throat and Baekhyun refocuses himself, turning to the older man and gulping.

His grip tightens on Chanyeol’s hands.

“‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana
came to tidy the room. ‘Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?’” the man begins, and
Baekhyun can’t help but choke a little, because he remembers exactly what scene this is. He hates his brother.

"’Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a
long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’"

"’Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.”

"’Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’"

"’Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’"

"’It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen
often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in
your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except
to people who don’t understand.’"

Baekhyun chances a look at Chanyeol, which is a bad idea, because the younger has a tear running down his cheek,
and his eyes are red, and he’s sniffling. Baekhyun’s not much better, but he’s afraid it’ll get worse if he keeps looking
at him, so he glances behind the man and focuses his attention on his friends. Which is also a bad idea, because
Yixing is wiping his nose on his shirt, and his eyes are watery. So Baekhyun tries again, and glances at the crowd, but
then he finds Mrs. Park sobbing into a handkerchief, so he groans and turns back to the officiant.

"’I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse only
smiled.”

"’Someone made me Real,’ he said. ‘That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become
unreal again. It lasts for always.’"

The officiant finishes and folds the piece of paper back up, sticking it back into his pocket. Baekhyun takes a deep
breath; he isn’t sobbing yet. He does turn to the line of guys behind him and seeks out his brother, and scowls at him.

“I hate you.” he says, and he doesn’t mean to shout it, but apparently he does because the audience laughs.
Baekhyun lets out a laugh of his own, and Baekbeom smiles at him, his own eyes a little watery.

Baekhyun can’t take that so he turns back around and faces Chanyeol, sighing. Chanyeol grins at him; it doesn’t mask
the redness of his eyes.
“I’m sure most of you know this, but it took a lot of time and work for Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s relationship to develop.
They are a special case indeed.”

Baekhyun nods. Man has that right.

“I believe these two men have become Real. They’ve loved each other and shaped each other and created something
together. They’ve made each other Real, and I believe that they will remain Real for a very, very long time.” the
officiant finishes, smiling at both Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Baekhyun sniffles again.

He wasn’t expecting any of this when he started planning this day. It’s a nice surprise though, he does have to admit.

“I think you two are itching to recite your vows now, because neither of you have looked away from each other in a
couple of minutes. So, Chanyeol, I’ll let you take it away.”

The crowd laughs and Baekhyun grins, staring up at Chanyeol while the younger takes a deep breath. He nods at the
officiant and then turns back to Baekhyun, smiling.

“I almost decided to just repeat my vows from the last wedding as a joke.” Chanyeol begins, and Baekhyun rolls his
eyes because he would. “Mostly because I’ve always found this part of the wedding to be really cheesy.”

Baekhyun can relate.

“But I’m not going to do that. Instead...” he tapers off and suddenly, Baekhyun is terrified. Chanyeol lets go of his
hands and backs up, leaving him standing there confused and embarrassed. And then music fucking blares through
some speakers Baekhyun didn’t even know the venue had, and Chanyeol and his entire portion of the bridal party
lineup.

‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars starts playing, and almost instantly, the line of men before him start dancing. Chanyeol
doesn’t have a mic or anything, but he starts singing, and Baekhyun nearly passes out. He absolutely hates the
younger man.

Apparently no one else knew of the song either, because the guys behind Baekhyun bust out laughing, slapping him
on the back and pointing out the moves that they find cool or entertaining. Baekhyun keeps his eyes on Chanyeol the
entire time, willing him to stop, but also enjoying it at the same time. He’s mortified, but what did he expect? He’s
marrying a dork.

They don’t perform the entire song, just the first verse, the chorus, and the last verse, but by the time they’re all done,
they’re out of breath. Chanyeol especially, because he had been singing and dancing, so when he walks back up to
Baekhyun, he’s panting. Baekhyun laughs at him.

“Give me a sec.” he says, holding up a finger and catching his breath. Baekhyun, along with every other person in the
room, cackles.

“Sorry.” he says. Baekhyun knows he’s apologizing for not being able to breath, and not because he’s concerned for
his image. Baekhyun just smiles at him.

“Byun Baekhyun, you’re my best friend, my favorite person, the person I want to wake up next to for the rest of my life.
You’re also the person I want to sing cheesy songs too until we’re old and crippled. That’s my promise to you; to stay
the man you love, and to provide you with entertainment, because God knows you’re boring.”

The crowd laughs again. Baekhyun can’t help but lightly slap the younger’s chest.
“I’m kidding. But in all honestly, I love you so much, and I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. We’re going to have
so much fun.”

Chanyeol grins at him, and then turns to the officiant. “I’m done.” he announces, and then he turns back to Baekhyun.
Baekhyun sighs. What has he gotten himself into?

“Well,” the officiant laughs, and then addresses Baekhyun, “-Baekhyun, can you top that?”

“No.” Baekhyun admits. He’s glaring at Chanyeol now, but there’s a smile on his face. “You’re going to make me look
like an ass.”

Chanyeol just shrugs his shoulders. Baekhyun rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t get a chance to say my vows last time.” Baekhyun begins. “I’m honestly not sure what I would have said.
When I was preparing this time around, I really couldn’t come up with the words to express what I was feeling. I think
I’ve got it now, though.”

“When I wake up next to you, no matter how bad I’m feeling, or what’s on my mind, I’m happy. You make me so
incredibly happy, and I think that was something I was missing. Before you, I was never truly happy.”

“You make me laugh. You make me smile an honest smile. You make me cringe and you make me want to hide my
face in embarrassment, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“You gave me everything I ever wanted, even if I didn’t know I wanted it at the time. You gave me a family again. You
gave me a sense of belonging. You gave me friends, people that I know I’ll have by my side for a long time. But most
importantly, you gave me yourself, and I’ll be forever grateful for it.”

“I love the little family we’ve started, with Bella and Yoda, and I love the sense of home we’ve created. You’re my best
friend and I’m so excited to continue that with you. And I hope you are too, because I think we make a pretty good
pair.”

Baekhyun finishes up and he can tell without even breaking Chanyeol’s stare that there is not a dry eye in the building.
Baekhyun’s crying, and Chanyeol is for sure crying, and the officiant’s voice sounds strained when he next speaks.

“You might have topped it.” he says, chuckling a little. “So while everyone drys their eyes, can we have the rings?”

Baekhyun laughs a little, and then turns to Luhan to collect the rings, because Sehun couldn’t be trusted. Luhan hands
them to him with a small smile and a thumbs up, and then Baekhyun turns back to the officiant, handing him the rings.
The man separates them and hands one to both Chanyeol and Baekhyun, before smiling.

“Chanyeol, if you’d like to go first?”

Chanyeol grins and takes Baekhyun’s left hand, holding it close to his body while he begins speaking. Baekhyun had
insisted that they learn the line by heart, because repeating it word for word after the officiant gets old.

"I give you this ring, a symbol of my love, as I give to you all that I am, and accept from you, all that you are."

He slides the ring onto Baekhyun’s finger, a small smile on his face the entire time. Baekhyun grins down at him,
flexing his hand once the ring is fully on. Despite his previous thoughts, he really does like it.

“Baekhyun?” Baekhyun is handed his own ring, and he takes Chanyeol’s hand and holds it the same way the younger
had done with his.

"I give you this ring, a symbol of my love, as I give to you all that I am, and accept from you, all that you are."

He slides the ring on and then grabs Chanyeol’s other hand, tangling their fingers together while he grins at the
younger. He blocks pretty much everyone else out, and opts to instead stare into the younger’s eyes. Chanyeol does
the same.

He’s expecting for the officiant to declare them married after that, and then request the kiss. It’s what was planned. So
when the man says something completely different, Baekhyun panics, and almost glares at the poor dude.

“Before I pronounce you married partners, I have just one more thing I want you to do.” Baekhyun swears if he has to-

“Your wedding day is one that seems to fly. It’s a day filled with emotion, friends, family, rings, and dances. Many
people remember how fleeting their own wedding day was. So I want you to take a few seconds and look into the
other’s eyes.”

Easy, Baekhyun thinks. He’s already doing that. Chanyeol just gives him a small smile.

“Think about the happiness that you’re feeling in this place, in this moment. Really let that feeling register in your heart
and mind.”

Baekhyun’s not sure if he’s ever been happier. Standing here, with the man of his dreams standing before him, smiling
down at him with that sweet smile he loves so much. He’s surrounded by family and friends and if he could, he’d stay
put for forever.

“Now, I want you to think about your life together in twenty years. Where are you? What are you doing?”

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol, imagining all of the possibilities. Maybe they’ll still be working the same job, maybe not.
Maybe they’ll have children, maybe not. Maybe they’ll be in New York, maybe they’ll be in Sitka. Baekhyun’s not sure
where this is going to take them, he just knows that he never wants to wake up alone ever again.

“Well all know that your visions of the future are not identical, but always complimentary. John Lennon, one of
Chanyeol’s favorites, as I’ve been informed, once said, ‘a dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together,
that is reality.’ That new reality starts now.”

Baekhyun doesn’t realize he’s freaking crying again until Chanyeol brings a thumb up to his cheek and wipes away his
tears. He leans into the touch, and smiles.

“Are you two finally ready to be married?”

Baekhyun nearly breaks his neck from nodding so hard.

“Well, in that case,” the officiant laughs, as does most of the audience, “-And now, by the power invested in me by the
State of New York, I hereby pronounce you husband and husband.”

Baekhyun’s so giddy, he swings Chanyeol’s arms back and forth. Chanyeol laughs at him.

“Baekhyun, Chanyeol, you may now kiss!”

Baekhyun wastes no time as he dives towards Chanyeol, capturing the younger’s lips into a kiss. Chanyeol smiles into
it, and they want to keep it brief and PG, but that doesn’t stop Baekhyun from savoring it. He cups Chanyeol’s cheek
with his hand and smiles, before pulling apart and staring up into his husband’s eyes. Chanyeol’s eyes are twinkling
and Baekhyun is 1000% positive he’s never seen anything so beautiful.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mr. Byun-Park!”

Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand and then raises their conjoined limbs towards the crowd, while they cheer and clap
for them. Mrs. Park is still sobbing, Halmi looks thrilled, one of the Park’s family friends is asleep in the back row.
Baekhyun doesn’t care, he’s married.
Married.

The wedding reception is everything Baekhyun has ever wanted, and then some. It’s perfect. It’s white, with splashes
of blue and grey all over. The flower arrangements and centerpieces are gorgeous. The drapery reminds him of a
castle, for some reason. He’s never been so impressed in his life. In fact, he’s so impressed, that Chanyeol has to
drag him into the room, laughing the entire way while Baekhyun gazes away.

He almost forgets that they have to have their first dance, but then he remembers that they practiced for this, so when
the music starts he leads Chanyeol to the middle of the dance floor and tugs him close.

Neither of them wanted a slow, sappy song that would make people cry. They’re also both decent dancers, so they
had Yixing and Jongin help them choreograph something that wouldn’t leave their guests yawning in their seats. They
chose ‘You Are the Best Thing’ by Ray LaMontagne, and the dance they’re doing isn’t hard by any means, but it’s
better than just swaying back and forth for five minutes straight.

When Baekhyun starts wiggling his butt, Chanyeol laughs at him, and the crowd cheers.

The whole thing isn’t a joke, or meant for entertainment. Baekhyun spends the entire time staring at Chanyeol and
smiling up at him, and Chanyeol leans down a few times and whispers sweet things into his ear. By the time the song
ends, they’ve both forgotten that they’re not the only ones in the room, and have to shake themselves out of whatever
trance they’re in to address the crowd.

Dinner is served after that, and Baekhyun would rather die than be the product of a buffet wedding, so they all wait
while the staff brings out the orders that the guests had previously picked. Baekhyun forgets what the options were,
but he’s happy with his chicken, and Chanyeol is enjoying his steak, so he doesn’t care. They just eat their food while
they laugh and joke with their friends at the table, telling stories or making fun of each other. It’s like any other dinner
all of them have together, except Baekhyun’s married. It’s a good night.

Well, it is a good night, until Chen taps on his glass and yells at the crowd to get everyone’s attention. Baekhyun had
forgotten all about the toasts up until this point, and he’s nervous. He finishes up his foodquickly and then turns
towards his loud friend, dreading whatever he’s about to say.

“We have toasts to do!” Chen exclaims, and it’s obvious he’s had a few to drink. Baekhyun loves drunk Chen. “We’ll
start with the best men!”

Chen hands the microphone (Baekhyun has no idea where he got it) to Sehun first, and then sits back down, while the
latter stands. He looks nervous at first, until he smiles, and then the Sehun they all know and love comes out.

“My first impression of Baekhyun was of him screaming at Chanyeol because Chanyeol had just thrown his extremely
expensive luggage into the ocean.”

The crowd around them laughs. Chanyeol cackles. Baekhyun flushes in embarrassment. His brother rolls his eyes at
him, from across the table.

“I hated him on the spot. Thought he was crazy, thought Chanyeol was crazy for liking him. It took Baekhyun throwing
himself off of a boat for me to figure out that he was actually a decent guy.” Baekhyun flushes again. Chanyeol’s arm
around his shoulders tightens. He groans.

“I’ve been waiting all my life for this day, but suddenly, I can’t think of anything else to say to embarrass these two.”
Sehun interjects, laughing as if he’s nervous. Baekhyun finds it endearing.

“But I guess I will say this. I don’t know anything about being married, but I do have a special someone of my own, and
it’s the best feeling in the world, having them around all the time. I know you guys are already used to that, but, just
don’t take it for granted. You both won the lottery here.”

“I couldn’t be happier for you two. To Chanyeol, my best friend in the entire world, I’m so proud of you. For finally
admitting your feelings to Baekhyun, because I never thought you would. Look where you are now.”

“And Baekhyun, thank you for making him so happy. I owe you, man. You light his world up.”

Sehun raises his glass in the air, the audience following.

“To Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the two most opposite people on the planet, who still made it work.”

“To Chanyeol and Baekhyun!” the crowd yells back, and they toast, and then all take a drink. Sehun smiles and then
hands the microphone to Luhan, sitting back down, his face bright red. Baekhyun gives him a thumbs up. The speech
was everywhere, but still good.

“I’m his special someone, in case you were wondering.” Luhan begins, pointing to Sehun. The crowd laughs. Sehun
flushes a deeper shade of red. Luhan grins at him.

“I haven’t know Baekhyun for very long, so when he asked me to be his best man, I admit I cried.”

“We’re extremely different, personality wise. I remember, though, that I was really the only one that was nice to him
when we first met him, so maybe that’s why he’s my best friend. Also, he’s the only one that let’s me boss him around.
Everyone else just brushes me off.”

More laughs. Baekhyun grins; it’s true, he won’t lie.

“I was the only one in on the secret the first time around, but me being me, I saw how gone these two were for each
other. Knowing it was fake made it even worse. I’m so glad they got it together, because without Baekhyun, I’m not
sure what I would do.”

Baekhyun can feel the tears welling in the corners of his eyes. Luhan is a sap, he knows what he’s doing to him.

“Everyone here knows it, but they’re so in love, it’s kind of gross. I’m happy for you guys though. I wish you the best in
this next journey of your life. I know you don’t need it, but good luck.” Luhan pauses for a second, as if considering
something. “Actually, Chanyeol, good luck. Maybe now Baekhyun will confide in you at three in the morning about his
boss problems, rather than me.”

The crowd laughs again. Luhan raises his glass.

“To the two weirdest people I know!” And then he takes a drink, everyone else doing the same. Baekhyun only grins at
him when he sits back down.

The rest of the night after that goes off with a hitch. They do the family dances right after the toasts, which has
Baekhyun in hysterics. Not because he’s crying, but because while Chanyeol and his mom are dancing nicely to the
slower song playing, Halmi is attempting to do the tango with Baekhyun, dipping him every time the tempo changes.
The crowd laughs the entire time, Minseok films it. Baekhyun’s crying by the end of because he’s laughing so hard, but
also because he loves her so much.

Cutting the cake goes well (Baekhyun only gets a little icing in his hair), until Tao drops two pieces in a row, and Kris
gets so fed up that he makes him drink three glasses of water before he can leave the table again. Which sucks
because he’s only on the second glass when the DJ dims the lights and the party actually begins. Baekhyun is actually
kind of concerned, because when ‘Party Like a Rockstar’ comes on, Tao downs the last glass so fast his legs are
wobbly when he stands up. Chen has to help him to the dance floor, but then he’s fine.
Baekhyun loses track of time while they all enjoy themselves on the dancefloor, dancing and singing the night away
literally. The songs they’ve picked are a hit, and when ‘Get Low’ comes on, Baekhyun ignores every voice in the back
of his mind and grabs Halmi’s hands, tugging her to the center of the floor to dance with him. He’s pretty sure Minseok
films that too, but he doesn’t care.

When the party starts to die down they decide to do the boutineer throw. Neither of them have bouquets, obviously, so
they unpin the flowers from their shirts and use those instead. Baekhyun wasn’t expecting as much fighting as there is,
it’s literally a heap of their friends in the middle of the floor, but when Tao comes up with both of the flowers, he cackles
the hardest he has in a long time.

Kris, still sitting in his chair at the table, watches with a horrified expression written across his face.

Eventually, though, the party dies down to just a few, and they decide to wrap things up, because it’s almost eleven
and Baekhyun is old and tired. He also doesn’t want to clean up, and he expresses this to Chanyeol, who just laughs
at him and nods. So they spend about 20 more minutes with their friends before Baekhyun literally can’t stand
anymore, and has to be swept up by Chanyeol who carries him bridal style.

They have a sparkler send off. Everyone stands on the stairs leading out of the reception hall, sparklers in hand, and
cheer for the happy couple while Chanyeol carries Baekhyun to their waiting limo. It’s all very nice and Baekhyun is
sure he’ll regret almost falling asleep on his husband’s shoulder, but at the moment, he’s exhausted. They say
goodbye through the window of the limo and then they’re off, heading to the hotel where they’ve booked a room for the
night. Something about staying in their apartment for the night had the two of them cringing.

When they arrive at the hotel, Chanyeol carries Baekhyun again, and Baekhyun would normally complain but he
doesn’t. Not even when Chanyeol carries him through their room door and sets him down on the large bed.

Baekhyun wants to have sex with him. He feels it’s tradition. However, he doesn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of it,
so he expresses his concerns to Chanyeol. Chanyeol laughs at him and then continues to derobe. Baekhyun doesn’t
know what that means, so he slowly takes his own clothes off, before sliding under the covers.

Chanyeol joins him after a few seconds and instead of trying anything, just tugs him towards him, holding him to his
chest. Baekhyun sinks into him.

“We had the best wedding.”

“Yeah we did.” Baekhyun replies. His eyes are closed, and he’s beginning to drift off.

“My mom left us a card.”

Baekhyun sighs. He can’t not read it, so he slowly sits up, and waits for Chanyeol to present it to him. Once he does
he tears it open and flips it open, reading it. They’ve payed for the two of them to spend two weeks on a honeymoon.
One week in London, the other in the Maldives. Baekhyun can’t read the last little note, because he’s sobbing.
Chanyeol takes the card from him before he can ruin it with his tears. He places it on the bedside table and then
engulfs Baekhyun in a hug, dragging the two of them back down onto the bed.

“I love them so much.” Baekhyun chokes out, getting snot and tears all over Chanyeol’s chest. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too, Mr. Byun-Park.”

Baekhyun grins.

“It has a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah it does.”
“Byun-Park Chanyeol. Byun-Park Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol chuckles. Baekhyun snuggles further down into his chest.

“What do you think about kids?”

“One thing at a time, babe.” Chanyeol laughs. “One thing at a time.”

Baekhyun grins.

“Okay.” he says, smirking. “But I want at least seven.”

Chanyeol smothers him with a pillow. Baekhyun laughs, trying to push the younger off of him.

He’s so going to fucking love this.

Three weeks later, after they’ve gotten back from their honeymoon, Tao FaceTimes them at one in the morning on a
Tuesday night and tells them that Kris has proposed to him. Baekhyun screams and takes all of the credit, because of
the boutineers, and then he and Chanyeol decide that within the next couple of months they’re going to move to Sitka,
because they’re tired of missing important life events with their family and friends.