Chapter Text
Chanyeol hates America.
Like with a very strong passion.
This hatred comes from the fact that he’s behind the wheel of a mint green 1965 VW bus, chauffeuring the band that he scrounged up in the local Korean Church Sunday youth group in his immigrated hometown of Ventura, California. It was his bright idea that the Indie rock band go on the road for the summer and hit up as many venues in the forty-eight connected states as possible before it’s time for him to go back to his dorm for his third year at CSU Fullerton.
This ultimately lead to the four member group (plus Jongin’s boyfriend) to quit their jobs for the few months and scrape enough money from their financial aid checks to be able to survive the trip.
There’s the possibility that they may get paid from their gigs but they all agreed (minus Jongin’s boyfriend) that they wouldn’t spend the money they get from their gigs on the trip.
But first the band.
Four young boys that all originate from South Korea and have immigrated to the quiet seaside town of Ventura. They’re America’s Asian version of The Beatles, well minus the fame but Hey! They have a Yoko Ono (Jongin’s Boyfriend).
The band’s name is El Dorado.
Members include:
Jongdae “Chen” Kim: Lead Singer, manager, GPS navigator, barista, jokester and Dinosaur.
Sehun “Make yo gurl go” Oh: Drummer, youngest, occasionally sleeps with church pastor’s son, resident lil’ shit, professional complainer, social media coordinator and PR director.
“ Señor ” Jongin “Kai” Kim: Bassiest, fried chicken extraordinar, band’s sex God, only one in a serious relationship, Chanyeol’s relief driver, and came up with the band’s name.
Kyungsoo “Yoko” (o)Do: Nonofficial official roadie and Jongin’s boyfriend (Hyung! He’s more than that!),
appeared on one track of their third ep and may or may not have a nice voice
And of course, Chanyeol “The creator” Park: Leader, Guitarist, driver, song writer, stylist, composer, rapper, merch distributor, treasurer, owns car, sets up stage, security, DJ, plays piano, owns most of the equipment, thinks his soundcloud is the shit, and hasn’t gotten laid since his ex boyfriend, Jimin, broke up with him four months ago.
Chanyeol turned up the volume of the radio to drown out Kyungsoo’s complaints about them probably going the wrong way.
Fuck this shit. Why did America have to have fifty states. At least we only have to go through forty eight. God Damn greedy people.
Unfortunately Childish Gambino’s Zealots of Stockholm couldn't mask Kyungsoo’s questioning Jongin about his fidelity.
They’ve been in the car for only three hours and Chanyeol feel like this was his worst idea yet. Jongdae was supposed to help him navigate through California and to their first stop in San Jose but the singer was too busy texting his internet boyfriend from Seattle.
“Minseok said that we have to come by his coffee shop to taste his lattes.”
“Will Minseok let us play at his shop?”
Jongdae shrugged his shoulders before returning back to his phone screen.
“If you play acoustic maybe but I don’t think they want our sound at their shop.”
“Hyung, are you even sure Minseok is real?”
“Shut the fuck up Sehun and focus on your damn snapchat filters. We video chat all the time. UNLIKE you and that church boy Joonmyeon Kim. What would Pastor Kim think when he finds out the Oh’s son fucked his beautifully pure and HETEROSEXUAL son on the church organ. At least we both are open about our relationship.”
The youngest let out a huff before mutter a “Fuck off Jongdae”.
Yes, the tension was thick in the air because of the close quarters. Chanyeol was already itching to leave the car but was scared to turn the piece of crap off.
Chanyeol was able to get the old car by trading his dad his 2009 Honda Civic for his prized VW bus that may have been where the Park’s conceived Yura, Chanyeol’s older sister.
Jongdae turns the volume up even more to stop any conversations (except for Kyungsoo and Jongin) to happen and snapped Chanyeol out of the dark place of his family’s history.
Chanyeol felt his front pocket buzz, and with one hand on the wheel he lifted off the seat to get his phone out of his tight jeans. He received a grunt of disapproval from Kyungsoo for talking on the phone while driving but he shushed the tiny man while he turned the volume down.
He swiped the green button on his iPhone and clicked the speakerphone setting so he can focus more on his driving.
“Hello?”
“Chanyeol!” the angelic voice soon filled the bus and even though with the harsh crinkles from the phone, Jimin’s voice still sounded full of life.
“What’s up Jimin?” it wasn’t strange for Chanyeol’s ex to call him, he was actually still very supportive of the band and is still official roadie and merch booth supervisor.
“I don’t know why but hyung, I have giant box of El Dorado shirts on my doorstep.”
“SHIT!” Chanyeol pulled to the side of the highway and turned the car off. Making sure to bang his hand on anything that he saw. “Jimin that box was supposed to be picked up by one of the members, specifically Jongin or even more specifically Kyungsoo. Damnit!”
Chanyeol punched the horn of the steering wheel and turned around to glare at the couple.
“Don’t worry Chanyeol. I can probably drive up to your first show and hand deliver it to you guys.”
“That would be wonderful, Jimin.”
He said his goodbyes before letting out a sigh of frustration.
“You guys told me. You begged for more responsibility on this tour and I give you one of the most important jobs for a band. Taking over Jimin’s job as the merch supervisor was supposed to be a way of gaining my trust, Kyungsoo. Just because you sleep with Jongin doesn’t mean you automatically get the keys to everything.”
“Hyung maybe you’re tak-”
“Jongin! You know most of our money comes from the booth. Now my ex boyfriend and his super judgmental rapper boyfriend are going to drive up to San Jose from Fullerton.”
The leader turns the car back on before lighting up a cigarette and puffing out a cloud of smoke while driving up the 101.
He wasn’t always like this. His relationship with Jimin was what brought him down this slippery slope of anger. The thing was although Jimin and Chanyeol broke up, they somehow ended up in each other’s bed at the end of night.
Chanyeol knew it was going to backfire on him some day but he never imagine that Jimin would find a guy at one of El Dorado’s shows.
Yoongi or Suga was an underground rapper who frequented at the club that El Dorado was a regular at but they never crossed paths since they were a band and he was a hip hop artist.
He had gone to the club to ask for a promotion for one of his rapper friends and found himself hanging out at the booth table that Jimin was manding.
It infuriated Chanyeol that this random guy decided to find interest in HIS Jimin but unfortunately, Jimin wasn’t his, at least not anymore.
Chanyeol calmed down by the end of his cigarette. He was too deep in thought to notice the quietness of the car.
“I’m sorry.” he said as he broke the silence, “I just don’t like bothering Jimin these days.”
No one said anything else, all there was to hear were the tapping of fingers against phones and Kyungsoo’s sniffles.
The silence lasted another hour and Chanyeol was dying to hurry up and reach San Jose. They had at least another forty-seven minutes and Chanyeol was not about to sit in a van filled with silence.
He exited the freeway when he saw the nearest rest stop, not noticing a tiny figure on the side of the exit ramp.
Chanyeol parked the car at gas station with the Jack in the Box attached to it and murmured about having to go take a piss.
None of the band members followed him to the bathroom which made Chanyeol think that they’re probably still upset about the merch meltdown.
He ends up in the mini mart of the gas station, trying to see if he was hungry enough for chips or twinkies.
“Don’t eat that junk.” a melodic voice told him as it passed behind him towards the fridges.
“Well what am I supposed to eat?”
The hooded figure grabbed a bottle of water with fingerless glove covered hand before answering the giant, “It depends on where you’re heading.”
“San Jose.” Chanyeol walked up to the frumpy looking figure.
“Oh really?! Me too!” The person finally turned to reveal a boy with shaggy caramel brown hair, sparkling brown eyes and a tiny mole above his lip.
The boy was incredibly beautiful but seemed to line his eyes with too much make up.
“You should go to A Slice of New York! I love the pizza from there.” the boy walked over to the coffee section of the mart and poured himself a large cup of the house blend.
“Are you from San Jose?” Chanyeol asked as followed the stranger to the counter.
“No, I’m from . . . I just travel a lot.” He finished paying his beverages and walked inside the Jack in the Box with Chanyeol.
Chanyeol soon found his Bandmates eating their delicious fast food at a table big enough for six and motioned for the stranger to sit with them.
“Guys still mad at me?”
Jongdae opened his mouth that was still filled with food and said “No, we’re used to you being a dick now that you get no ass to put it in.”
Chanyeol grew red at the comment and muttered a “Shut up.”
The stranger thought it was funny and let out a rather loud laugh.
Jongdae was surprised to see a new face at their table but appreciated the strangers reaction.
Sehun looked up from his phone to see where the strange noise came from, “Who are you?”
“Ah! Terribly rude of me not to introduce myself.” The small boy pushed his hood down revealing a feather braided into his hair and as soon as he pushed a piece of his caramel hair behind his ear, a row of piercings were revealed along the edge of it.
“My name is Baekhyun Byun. People called be Byun though because they find my name hard to pronounce.”
“You’re a guy!?” Jongin looked up from his tacos in surprise.
“Yeah.” Baekhyun brought up a slender finger to scratch the back of one of his piercings.
Chanyeol noticed the boy's hands looked pale and cold but were adorned with many rings with stones like opal and onyx.
“Where you going to?”
“San Jose.”
“Where you heading from?”
“I was in San Diego. It took me a while to get here.”
“Why?” Chanyeol was grateful that someone was asking the questions that he was thinking since the boy looked so young to be traveling by himself.
“I’m a hitchhiker.”
“What!” Chanyeol turned to him in shock.
See this is where Chanyeol’s knowledge of hitchhiking comes into light. You stand on the road, make yourself look appealing, get in a random person’s car, let them take you to your destination and maybe end up having to give them some sexual pleasure.
Chanyeol quietly sulked at the thought of the beautiful boy having to probably have sex with a trucker to get this far.
“Yeah, I mainly get picked up by people our age but for the past few hours I haven’t had luck and ended up walking a bit.”
Jongdae frowned at the thought of someone having to walk so far, “Too bad we didn’t see you sooner or else we would have picked you up. Do you still need a ride to San Jose?”
“I wouldn’t want to impose.” Baekhyun said as he gripped the end of his gray hoodie.
“You wouldn’t!” Chanyeol may have been too enthusiastic with his response but he didn’t want to see this beautiful boy ride with some ugly fat trucker.
“O-okay. Let me grab my stuff.” Baekhyun got up from the table and rushed to the mini mart where the cashier was holding his backpack and satchel.
While Baekhyun was away, Kyungsoo leaned towards Chanyeol and whispered, “Are you crazy? What if he tries killing us?”
“Kyungsoo, San Jose’s like forty five minutes away. We can survive with him for that long.”
“How did you meet him?” Jongdae pipped in.
“We met at the mini mart, he told me not to eat junk food. He seems really nice.”
Sehun scoffed at lightly tossed his phone on the table, “Yeah sure hyung. He seemed nice but why were you checking him out.”
“I was not!”
“Hyung you get this weird look on your face when you see a cute guy. I’m surprised he didn’t say no with the look you were giving him.”
“What look!?”
Jongin snickered, “Like a dog in heat.”
“You know what, fuck you guys.”
“Shhh, he’s coming.”
The band members quieted down and Chanyeol looked over to see Baekhyun out of his bulky gray sweater.
Okay maybe Chanyeol was checking him out now but those torn jeans looked painted on him, his white v-neck exposed his delicious collar bones and the choker he wore provided a feminine touch to his rough look.
“I was dying with that sweater on. I only wore it because I get harassed when I walk along the roads because people tend to think I’m a girl.”
He plopped back down in the chair next to Chanyeol and hauled his red Jansport backpack onto his lap.
“Where you guys from?” he said as he rummaged through the front pocket.
“Ventura.” Jongdae smirked at how their ‘leader’ was so obvious on looking down Baekhyun’s shirt.
“No shit! I went there during the winter. It’s beautiful. So you guys on like summer vacation?”
“We’re in a band and we decided to take a tour across America.”
“Really? My-” Baekhyun paused before shaking his head, “I knew someone who was in a band. I was like their roadie of sorts.”
This snapped Chanyeol out of his dirty thoughts, “You were a roadie?”
Baekhyun nodded and finally found what he needed. He brought out a MAC lipstick and applied the light pink color along his lips, giving him a more alive look.
“I managed the merch booth for a bit.”
Chanyeol was too entranced with Baekhyun putting his lipstick on that he couldn’t keep up with the conversation.
It was Jongin’s turn to step in to fill the leader’s tragic absence, “Maybe you can help us out. Kyungsoo is our roadie and he hasn’t been doing much. This tour was his chance to gain responsibility and take over Chanyeol’s ex boyfriend's job as the merch booth supervisor.”
Baekhyun raised an eyebrow and looked at the guitarist, “Ex boyfriend?”
He then focused his attention on Jongin and Kyungsoo’s hands and Jongdae’s rainbow phone case.
“Are you guys gay?”
Sehun raised his hand, “I’m Bisexual.”
Chanyeol started to stutter, were his signs misinterpreted about Baekhyun? “I-is that all-ll right?”
Baekhyun shrugged before uncapping his bottle of water to take a swig.
“I thought the lipstick was a hint but I guess not these days. It’s cool, I’m gay too. It’s just nice to find an understanding group of people. Most guys who do pick me up are straight and end up trying to fulfill some sort of weird gay fantasy with me.”
Chanyeol fumed at the thought.
“Then they meet my fist to their face and they calm down.” Chanyeol did somersaults in his mind knowing now that Baekhyun wasn’t that type of hitchhiker.
“Just nice to know you guys won't try to rape me in my sleep.” Sehun burst into laughter because if anything, Chanyeol was already fantasizing about certain positions with the beautiful stranger.
Baekhyun grimaced in confusion and took out a bag of dried mangos to chew on. “Where are you guys playing at?”
“The Underground.”
Baekhyun quieted down after that.
They finished eating their food and started to pile into the VW van. Chen was pushed to sit in the back with Sehun since Baekhyun knew his way around the bay more than him.
Chanyeol was nervous having him near him but he was also scared to have him far away.
The smaller was still quiet from the talk at the Jack in the Box, only speaking up to ask if he can roll down the window of the passenger seat.
He had his head resting on the window seal and would only sigh when he saw the road signs that tell you how near you are to your destination.
Chanyeol decided to speak up when they finally reached San Jose.
“I’m Chanyeol by the way. We never really introduced ourselves. I play guitar, piano, produce, write, compose and own most of the equipment.”
Baekhyun lifted his head from the window and cracked a smile at the leader’s honest introduction.
“The guy with pouty lips and stinky feet is Jongin. He plays bass and. . . He brings most of the girls attention due to his looks.”
The tanned bassist scoff before hugging his squishy boyfriend.
“The guy he’s hugging is his boyfriend Kyungsoo. He’s our unofficial official roadie.”
“He does more than that Hyung!”
“And appeared on our third EP, Setting Sails, once.”
Baekhyun had turned in his seat and kneeled so he was now facing the back, making sure to wave at the people who were being introduced.
“Jongdae is our lead singer, manager, and Starbucks barista.”
“I’m also in charge of GPS.”
“That you are pint size one. He’s also in an internet relationship with an older barista in Seattle.”
“Which coffee house?”
“Green Bean Coffeehouse.”
Baekhyun tapped his chin in thought before exclaiming, “I’ve been there! The person who i knew was in a band, his boyfriend, uh, Moon sang there.”
Chen let out a yelp of surprise, “You know Moon?”
Baekhyun let out a nervous chuckle while messing with the back of one of his piercings, “Of sorts.”
“My boyfriend loved his voice.”
Baekhyun’s face lit up, “Really?”
“Said he wish he could have seen his face but they were busy with the crowd Moon brought in. Too bad he closed his Soundcloud before I had the chance to actually listen to him.”
“He had his reasons.” Baekhyun slumped a bit in his seat.
The smaller was quiet for a bit, lost in thoughts that Chanyeol desperately wanted to be a part of.
“I’m Sehun!”
Sehun’s loud voice jolted Baekhyun from his thoughts, scaring the poor creature.
Dammit Sehun!
“I’m the sexiest drummer alive.”
Chanyeol rolled his eyes, “That’s our littlest member, also our PR person, and in charge of our social media.”
“Yeah! El Dorado has a snapchat.”
“What’s an El Dorado?”
“That’s our band name!” Jongin piped in “ Señor Kai, me, named the band.”
Baekhyun broke out into a loud laugh, “You guys have nicknames?”
Chanyeol scratched his head with embarrassment, “Yeah, Jongin is Kai. Jongdae is Chen, Sehun is…Sehun is just stupid, Kyungsoo is Yoko Odo, and I’m Chanyeol the creator.”
“Chanyeol the creator? Aren’t you stealing that from Tyler the Creator?”
“No one calls me the creator actually. I call myself it.”
Baekhyun let out a sad whimper and poked the giant’s cheek, “I’ll call you that too then. Who’s the most popular member?”
“Surprisingly Sehun has been the most popular lately but that’s because he takes care of all our social media. It used to be Jongin but Kyungsoo has been very present lately so girls have been backing off.”
“I’ve been updating our snapchat about our trip.” Sehun said as he waved his phone.
Baekhyun turned to the leader and whispered, “What’s snapchat?”
“WHAT!” The youngest member almost blew a gasket at the sudden culture shock. Everyone knows what snapchat is. “Don’t you own a phone?”
Baekhyun pulled out a cracked iPhone 5 from his satchel and passed it to the back of the bus.
Sehun swiped left and asked for the passcode.
“3-3-2-6”
He looked though the elders apps and only found soundcloud, youtube, kakao and instagram.
“Where have you been?”
Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably where he kneeled, “You don’t need much when you’re traveling.”
Sehun quickly went to the app store and downloaded the famous application. He passed the phone back and commanded the elder to create an account.
Baekhyun sat back down properly in his seat and went through the requirements for the account.
Chanyeol exited from the freeway and noticed the smaller’s troubled expression as he looked at the app.
“Sehun, he’ll make one later, right now I need him to help me get to the venue.”
Baekhyun looked at the giant in thankfulness and locked his phone, making sure to slip it back into the satchel.
The air in the bus was buzzing with eagerness at the fact they’re playing at a new venue.
Jongdae practiced his note scale while Sehun memorized the beat to their newest song.
Kyungsoo was tapping away at his phone probably texting Jimin to see where he’s at with the band merch.
Baekhyun took his gray hoodie out from his backpack and zipped it up his lithe body.
Chanyeol watched as he took off the beaten down pair of gray low top converse off and replaced them with Burgundy New Balance shoes.
The smaller wasn’t wearing socks, revealing a row of perfectly painted black toes blistered with the walking he had done.
“Why don’t you wear socks?”
Baekhyun stared into the distance, he was transported to a time filled with laughter. Too poor to afford gas for the week but they managed to smile.
Doing laundry required money and things that needed constant washing were a burden and took too much space when you’re trying to pack.
“A luxury I can’t afford.” he gave the giant a meek smile before going back to drowning in the memories.
They finally reached Underground and while Chanyeol checked them and their equipment in. Jongdae went off to check them into their hotel down the street. Sehun went off to take pics for their instagram. Kyungsoo and Jongin were busy trying to get a hold of Jimin. Baekhyun had no choice but to follow the giant inside the venue.
He sighed when he saw the empty stage. He ran his fingers through the rails of the closed section for VIP audience. “ Wait here.”
He looked up to see where the voice came from.
“ Baekhyun.”
He peered inside the the VIP section in hopes to see his figure.
“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol placed a worried hand on the hitchhiker when he was the smaller stare into the empty VIP section. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, just looking around.”
Chanyeol jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the table placed near the bar. “That’s our merch booth. Apparently the opening act already called dibs on the table near VIP.”
Baekhyun nodded and walked past Chanyeol to El Dorado’s merch booth.
The club’s owner looked at Baekhyun in wonderment, “I know you!”
Baekhyun stopped in his tracks and pulled his hood over his head, “I think you got the wrong person.”
“No, I know who you are!”
Baekhyun peeped under his hood and gave a cold, “No you don’t.” before walking out the club.
The owner looked at Chanyeol, “Band member?”
Chanyeol shook his head, “Baekhyun is our new merch helper.”
“Baekhyun?” The owner ran his fingers through his blonde hair “No, it wasn’t him then. Tell Baekhyun that I was sorry for mistaking him for someone else.”
“Who did you think he was?”
The owner blew out a puff of air and pointed at the bar. “This place wasn’t well known back then but it was about two years ago when a solo singer and his boyfriend appeared. They were known to do random shows along the bay and some of the Pacific Northwest. The day they appeared at The Underground was the day our stock of drinks ran out. People were squishing themselves to see the singer. The fire marshall would have had a field day if he saw us that day. I tried getting them back to perform here but as of a year ago, people haven’t been able to get a hold of them.”
“What happened?”
“No one knows. Their social media, Soundcloud, everything was deactivated.”
Chanyeol stared at the open door of the club wondering why that sounded so familiar.
The owner told him he can go rest now since they wouldn’t be setting up till seven and it was barely 3pm.
When he walked outside, he saw Jongdae sitting in the front seat, tapping away at his phone.
“Yeah!” Chanyeol tapped the windshield to get his attention. “Where’s everyone?”
Jongdae opened the door and hopped out the van. “Sehun’s asleep in the back and Kyungsoo and Jongin walked to the hotel.”
“What about Baekhyun?”
Jongdae shrugged before getting back into the car, “I dunno. He said he would meet us here at seven.”
Chanyeol slid into the passenger seat and let Jongdae drive them to the hotel. He was secretly hoping that he could see Baekhyun walking along the street.
Chanyeol knows it’s ridiculous to be worrying over a random stranger but there seems to be something off about the smaller. When he wasn’t learning about the band members, he was busy staring off into the distance. And even though he asked endless questions about the members, he never gave a hint about himself. Only the places he’s been but never any background as to where he’s from.
The hotel they were staying at wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t fancy either. It was affordable for them to ask for three rooms but it was expensive enough for complimentary breakfast.
Chanyeol lugged his silver suitcase across the third floor to his room next to Jongdae and Sehun. The other’s made sure to have Kyungsoo and Jongin in a different level so they would actually be able to get some sleep that night.
He settled his suitcase on the spare bed and thought that maybe Baekhyun was out looking for a place to sleep. I should let him have this bed. Nothing sexual, I’m just trying to help a person out.
His mind started to wonder off to scenarios of waking up to baekhyun. He was too busy drooling over the endless possibilities of rooming with the hitchhiker that he didn’t notice when Jongdae broke into his room.
“Earth to Chanyeol.” He waved his hand in front of the giant’s face before socking him in the stomach.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”
Jongdae snickered as he slumped onto the extra bed, “Yo, Sehun found Baekhyun. Apparently the little shit got his number while looking through his phone and texted him when he heard you were worried about him.”
“I’m not worried!”
“Save it for a person who believes you, Park.” The cat like singer started to stretch his legs as he informed the giant leader the whereabouts of the beautiful hitchhiker.
“It appears our little Baekhyunnie has friends everywhere. He was trying to see if he can crash in a friend’s dorm for the night. He’s probably in San Jose State right now.”
Baekhyun in college? The boy looked too young to be knowing people in college but then again how would he be able to roam around America freely.
“Sehun said he’ll text you his phone number after he’s done skyping Joonmyeon. God, I hope he doesn’t get cum all over the fucking computer. We’re sharing the same laptop bag and I don’t want to be video chatting my Minnie knowing that Sehun’s semen infected computer touched mine.”
The singer shivered at the thought and waved his hand at Chanyeol. “What’s up?”
“Shhhh!” The leader fumbled as he grabbed the case to his guitar and started to pluck a set of notes. “Dammit.”
He pushed the guitar away in frustration when he couldn’t get the music out from his head correctly on his instrument.
“Hum it.” The melodic voice came from the door. Baekhyun waved at Jongdae before plopping himself next to the giant. “It’s best to hum it first before tackling the melody.”
The giant gapped at the smaller before meeting eyes with Jongdae.
Baekhyun looked at them in curiosity, “You guys said you have a place for me to stay the night. Sehun gave me the address and room number to the hotel and room. Is that okay?”
Chanyeol nodded furiously at pointed to where Jongdae was laying at, “That’s your bed.”
Jongdae waved his hand across the bed as if he was a Vegas showgirl then made an finger gun to Baekhyun and shot him.
Jongdae and Chanyeol’s phones buzzed. One got the text that it was okay to enter the room and the other the number to beautiful hitchhiker sitting next to him.
The dinosaur went back to unpack his things and left Chanyeol with his mini crush.
“Hi.” Chanyeol sputtered out.
“Hi.” Baekhyun said back cooly. He gave Chanyeol a wink before stating that he was going to take a much needed shower.
He knew why he couldn’t figure out why the guitar wasn’t working out. The song in his head needed piano, one that portray the beauty that Chanyeol saw when Baekhyun pulled off his white V-neck.
They were standing inside the club now, Kyungsoo was wearing all black as usual except his round eyes were lined in black much like Baekhyun.
Jongin wore a black see through long sleeve with a black tank top and tight light blue jeans with his matching white converse couple shoes with Kyungsoo.
Sehun wore a red button down, ripped jeans, black nike’s and a snapback.
Chen went the easy route with a white graphic tee, black pants, black Jordans and a snapback
Chanyeol was, eh, in his black shirt, ripped jeans, red flannel and old black converse.
It was Baekhyun who stole the show, in Chanyeol’s eyes. The feather was still braided in his hair but his eyeliner was more precise. His black crew neck that stated ‘Not You’ with a heart and ripped jeans made him look like a college student. He didn’t wear all his rings just simple black band on his left index finger.
Baekhyun wore a different shade of lipstick, one more darker than the corally pink. He looked beautiful and Chanyeol wanted to capture his beauty in all the ways possible.
“Chanyeol! Jimin texted me, he’s stuck in traffic but he’ll be here in a few.” Kyungsoo snapped his fingers at the leader and pointed to their merch table. “Baekhyun said to put out what we have on us, is that okay?”
“Of course.” he gulped as we watched the small hitchhiker try to pin the band’s banner on the wall behind the the merch booth. He can see the boy’s sweater pull up to reveal the perky butt and thick thighs that hugged the ripped jeans.
“Instead of checking Baekhyun’s ass out, you should help him.” Kyungsoo snapped before leaving to go meet Jimin.
Chanyeol stumbled towards Baekhyun and cleared his throat, “Need help?”
“Yes, I need your freakishly tall height to pin this banner so people can know who we’re selling for.”
The giant went behind the smaller and grabbed the thumb tack and banner from his small hands to place it higher than Baekhyun's reach.
Please God don’t let me pop a boner. Chanyeol thought as he felt Baekhyun’s body against his.
“Chanyeol!” The leader turned to see his ex and Kyungsoo with boxes in their hands. He rushed over to help Jimin with them, completely forgetting about Baekhyun.
“I hope it wasn’t too much trouble getting here.” he placed the boxes on the table before turning to speak to Jimin.
“Nonsense, it was only a five hour drive.”
“How’s Yoongi?”
Jimin shrugged before looking around at the venue, “Upset that he came along with me. He’s in the car pouting about it but I promised him a dinner in San Francisco.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Hey it’s better than you going out of state without your merch.” He gave Chanyeol a hug and waved at the band while they set up the stage, “I better get going, traffic is a nightmare right now.
There was chorus of “Bye Jiminnie,” as the young boy exited the club.
“That’s your ex?” Baekhyun said quietly.
Chanyeol turned back to the small boy, feeling bad the he ignored him, “Yeah.”
Baekhyun fumbled with the feather in his hair before giving Chanyeol a sad smile, “He’s beautiful.”
He proceeded to unbox the shirts for the booth and pinned some to the wall.
Kyungsoo pushed passed Chanyeol and he could have sworn he heard “Asshole.” come from the owl eyed boy’s mouth.
The rest of the night was successful. They seemed to gain a bit of fan base in the bay.
From where he stood, Chanyeol can see Baekhyun sway to a song he wrote.
What he didn’t notice was the boy was incredibly intoxicated. Shooting back beer after beer. Leaving Kyungsoo solely responsible for the merch booth.
Kyungsoo knew something was off when he heard Baekhyun murmur lyrics in Korean about half of something.
He watched in worry as the hitchhiker stumbled to the crowd, clearly not noticing the hungry eyes of men who watched him dance to a song in his head.
Kyungsoo couldn’t go after him, fearing Chanyeol’s wrath if he heard about him leaving the cash box alone.
“Love, Love the stars! Love, Love the- shit.” The tiny man bumped into a American jock. He said sorry and tried to walk away but the guy was interested in Baekhyun.
Baekhyun felt the hand grab at his waist and he tried to pry them off. “Back off!”
The jock promised him a good time and Baekhyun growled that he was already having one.
The guy wasn’t taking no for an answer and tried to drag Baekhyun towards his group.
“Let go!” Baekhyun scratched at the guy's hands but that made the grip on him harder. “Please!”
Baekhyun was struggling but his usual strength was impaired. He let out a cry of fright when the Jock was able to drag him towards him a bit.
“D-d help!”
The jock’s grip soon slackened when he notice the band had gone silent.
Chanyeol had watched the whole scene and stopped playing, upset with what he was seeing and that he was unable to get off the stage.
The Jock let out a chuckle before shoving Baekhyun away and rushing to leave the club. Baekhyun tripped when he was pushed and ended up on the ground.
He let out a sob and curled into himself. He tried to bury himself in the ground of the club but soon felt a pair of arms circle him and picked him off the ground.
Chanyeol carried Baekhyun backstage and told Kyungsoo to abandon the merch table so he can watch over the drunk hitchhiker.
El Dorado finished their set list and packed up after everyone left.
Baekhyun had fallen asleep in Kyungsoo’s arms and despite his small stature, the bassist’s boyfriend carried him to the car.
That night when Baekhyun curled up in the sheets of the hotel bed, Chanyeol stared at the ball of blankets wondering what had happened to cause Baekhyun to drink so much.
He looked at the phone that belong to the passed out boy and looked at the kakao inbox.
There were a hundred and thirty four messages from one person, all left unanswered.
One thing was certain, Baekhyun has secrets. Maybe like any other person on the side of the road, but Chanyeol wanted to know his secrets.
Not out of curiosity but out of care for the small boy that he just meet a total of ten hours ago.
Meanwhile, Baekhyun dreamed of simpler times.
Where the fanciest meal was not one from a famous restaurant but a gas stove in an apartment looking over the bay.
Where songs were filled with meaning and love.
And happiness was just a hand hold away.
Chanyeol promised the moon that night that he would hold onto Baekhyun for as long as he can and uncover the mystery behind the beauty.