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Chapter Text

“This is your captain, Kim Junmyeon, speaking and I’m here with my First Officer…”

The rest of the pilot’s words fade away as Chanyeol smiled to himself and tuned the Captain out. If Junmyeon was the one flying the plane, then it would be an incredibly smooth ride, all the way until its landing. That meant Chanyeol could safely have at least an hour’s worth of nap in peace and spend the other hour snacking on whatever the plane had to offer before he’d reach Seoul.

Closing his eyes, Chanyeol adjusted himself in his seat, not bothering to play with the incline since he had to have his seat upright for takeoff. Meanwhile, he wondered if he should have gone for the Premium Class instead of Economy since he had accumulated so many miles from all the piloting anyway. Pushing that thought out of his mind (what was done is done), he allowed himself to relax, smirking whenever he felt lingering stares from the air stewardess who walked past him. Usually, some air stewards would cast him an extra glance or two but the one on this flight was a fifty-year-old man with a wife and three kids.

“Captain Park!”

Cracking open an eye, Chanyeol grinned lazily at the air stewardess before opening his other eye. “Hey, pretty.”

Giggling behind a hand, she gave him a shy smile.

“Didn’t expect me on this flight?” he teased.

“We’re used to seeing you in the cockpit,” another voice joined in and Chanyeol turned his head to the other aisle and smiled charmingly to another air stewardess was standing there. “Have a pleasant flight, Captain Park.”

“Oh, definitely. Especially with you ladies serving me.” Chanyeol winked at them both before they were giggling softly again and then going on about their job.

Shutting his eyes again, Chanyeol waited patiently for the plane to takeoff, not even bothering to see who was sitting next to him when he heard someone settling down in the seat.

The familiar sound of the engine revving up made Chanyeol feel at ease and he sank further into his seat, wishing for the plane to take off already so that he could adjust the incline. Any time now – the wheels were rolling and the engine’s sound was growing louder. Soon, the plane slowly lifted itself off the runway, retracting its wheels as it flew higher and higher, easily gaining speed like an aircraft was made for.

Chanyeol didn’t know how long his eyes were kept shut for but he could tell how high the plane was up in the sky, having flown a commercial plane enough times to know. Strangely, what made him open his eyes was a soft voice to his right reciting the familiar numbers he was so used to seeing on the altimeter.

“…thousand feet.” A pause. “Ten thousand feet.” Another pause. “Twelve thousand feet.”

Grinning at the man next to him, Chanyeol wondered if the other was a pilot. The stranger had a baby face – soft-looking cheeks on the chubbier side (though the man was by no means fat), a small button nose, and a glow on his face that radiated youth. Chanyeol felt old.

“Oh,” the man gasped suddenly, smiling sheepishly at Chanyeol. “I was doing that out loud, wasn’t I?”

“You mean doing advanced counting?” Chanyeol said very seriously, his brows knitted together. “Because I’m pretty sure when schools teach counting in kindergarten, they don’t teach up to the ten thousands,” Chanyeol added on to explain when the stranger stared at him with a confused look.

Laughing aloud, the man quickly slapped a hand over his mouth when he seemingly realised that he was currently in a very confined space and the passenger to his right was giving him a weird look. When he removed his hand, there was still a pretty smile playing at his lips. “Byun Baekhyun and you’re funny.”

“I’m Park Chanyeol actually,” Chanyeol said in a mock-grimly tone which made Baekhyun stifle back a laugh by biting down on his lower lip. Chanyeol found himself thinking that the expression rather suited Baekhyun – a light reddish tinge colouring his cheeks and his teeth clamped down on pink moist flesh, sure to leave temporary faint indents when he releases it.

“I’m planning to be a pilot,” Baekhyun explained. “A good pilot should know how high a plane is in the sky at any point in time.”

Chanyeol almost scoffed at that. He could easily name a few of his coworkers who could most definitely not name how high their plane was in the sky unless they looked at the indicator or if it was cruising. But then again, those people weren’t exactly what Chanyeol would call ‘a good pilot’.

“So, how do you know that you’re correct? Or are you just randomly saying the numbers?” Chanyeol feigned interest, as if he had no clue about flying at all. There weren’t four golden stripes on each of his shoulders to tell Baekhyun the truth anyway.

At the question, Baekhyun’s eyes lit up and he launched into an enthusiastic explanation about how he had done simulation tests before and always looked at the indicator while simultaneously calculating the time in his mind, so he had a good idea about how long it would generally take for a plane to reach a certain height. Then he went on boasting about how he had graduated with the top scores at the flying academy and Chanyeol was impressed. Despite accumulating flying hours quickly and being one of the youngest Captains in history, Chanyeol had not graduated at the top.

As Baekhyun continued talking about himself doing so well in the interview for the airline he had applied to, Chanyeol took the moment to truly look at Baekhyun.

The man was truly beautiful, maybe not the conventional kind where majority of the people would look at and then find beautiful, but he was more of a subtle yet impressionable kind that captivated Chanyeol all the same. His eyes sparkled as he continued talking so passionately about being a pilot, the words spilling out of his mouth and he tripped over some of them at times. Meanwhile, he was also gesturing animatedly with his hands and Chanyeol couldn’t help but notice how pretty his fingers were – long and slender, more like a pianist’s hands than a pilot and Chanyeol briefly wondered if Baekhyun played the piano. He also noticed the mole, probably a birthmark, on Baekhyun’s left thumb. Though what captured Chanyeol’s attention the most was the small smile that lit up Baekhyun’s entire face. There was a small mole above Baekhyun’s lip on the right and maybe Chanyeol was staring a little too closely.

“…must be very boring.”

“Not at all,” Chanyeol replied smoothly, flashing Baekhyun a charming smile. “But I might have missed out which airline you applied to?”

“Seoular!”

“Ah!” Chanyeol had to resist the urge to blurt out to Baekhyun right there and then that he flew for Seoular. It was more fun this way. “It’s a good airline company,” Chanyeol said instead, waving a hand to his side, indicating how they were flying one of Seoular Air’s planes.

“It is,” Baekhyun agreed easily with a melodious laugh. “Now it’s your turn. Tell me about yourself.”

“Well…” Chanyeol began.

He ended up telling Baekhyun about all the animals he had use to keep as pets – a mouse he had adopted after finding it caught in a mousetrap being the most shocking one that made Baekhyun gasp loudly.

“That’s crazy,” Baekhyun insisted.

“Nope,” Chanyeol laughed.

“A mouse.”

Jutting his lower lip out, Chanyeol shrugged. “Still an animal.”

“Cabin crew, prepare for landing.” A voice coming through the intercom interrupted Baekhyun’s reply.

“That was quick,” Chanyeol mused aloud.

Chuckling, Baekhyun grinned at him. “It’s only a two-hour flight from Tokyo to Seoul, what did you expect?”

“That I wouldn’t be talking to a beautiful guy throughout the whole journey.”

Speechless, Baekhyun’s mouth hung open slightly but his smile widened and the corners of his eyes crinkled.

The wheels of the plane touched the ground, the plane moving smoothly down the runway as the seatbelt sign blinked off.

“Shall we?” Chanyeol said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

The announcement for passengers to disembark soon came on and Chanyeol made a beeline for the exit, Baekhyun close behind.

“See you around Ca – ”

Before the air stewardess could finish her greeting, Chanyeol’s index finger flew to his lips and he shook his head.

Quickly understanding, she smiled at Chanyeol. “Have a nice day,” she said before saying the same to Baekhyun.

“What was she about to say?” Baekhyun asked when he stepped off the plane.

“Was she about to say anything?” Chanyeol faked a surprise look on his face.

“Forget it,” Baekhyun said, giving Chanyeol a knowing look. “You’re not going to tell me anyway.”

Licking his lips, Chanyeol nodded. “It was fun talking to you.”

“You too.”

“Good luck for your interview, Byun Baekhyun.”

Tilting his head to the side, Baekhyun flashed Chanyeol a sweet smile. “Thank you.”

“See you around.” Chanyeol cursed himself mentally for only being able to come up with such sucky one-liners that belong in the bin.

“Why would we see each other around?” Baekhyun asked with a laugh. “Is this the part you ask for my number?”

“No.” Chanyeol laughed when the grin from Baekhyun’s face fell. “But you’re going to be a pilot, aren’t you? I fly a lot.”

“Do you now?” There was a slight teasing tone in Baekhyun’s voice and he clearly wasn’t insulted by Chanyeol’s turning him down. “I’ll see you around then.” Looking at the large digital clock hanging from the ceiling to check the time, Baekhyun gasped. “I have to go now,” he rushed out as he took a few steps back. “It was really fun talking to you on the plane, Chanyeol. I’ll see you around.”

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called out before the other turned away. “Wait.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have your number?” The words slipped out from Chanyeol’s mouth before he could compose himself to ask it in his usual suave way.

Laughing, Baekhyun shook his head. “I’ll give it to you when I see you around.” He lifted a hand and waved Chanyeol goodbye before he was walking towards immigration.

Chanyeol watched Baekhyun as he walked away, looking forward to seeing Baekhyun at Seoular soon. Maybe he’d even pop by the other’s interview session if Junmyeon allowed it.

> > > > > ✈

“A dancer got in,” Junmyeon commented offhandedly when Chanyeol walked over to his table and sat down beside him. Chanyeol greeted Junmyeon and was about to greet Minseok too when the latter waved him off. “A writer too.” Hand resting on his chin, Junmyeon frowned. “I think their names were Kim Jongin and...”

“Do Kyungsoo?” Minseok supplied helpfully, raising his eyebrow and Junmyeon beamed, nodding happily.

Scoffing, Chanyeol took a sip from his steaming paper cup, scrunching up his face at the bitter taste that coated his tongue. The company really needed to change coffee brands. Or invest in more sugar, Chanyeol thought when he noticed the lack of sugar packets on the table. “A dancer and a writer? That’s interesting.”

“Interesting, huh,” Minseok mused, smiling at Chanyeol secretively, making the younger Captain freeze. “Not as interesting as the other candidate though, I bet.” Levelling Chanyeol with a knowing look, Minseok smirked. “For you that is.”

“Who?” Chanyeol spluttered, placing his paper cup down and shifting uncomfortably in his seat under the scrutiny of two of his seniors. “Which applicant?” Turning to Junmyeon, Chanyeol grinned widely. “Did you find anyone particularly interesting?”

Junmyeon tutted. “And he asks questions to avoid giving an answer.” Faking a helpless look, Junmyeon sighed and Minseok glanced at him in sympathy. “What do we do with him, Captain Kim? Now that he has four stripes on his shoulder, now that he’s Captain Park and not First Officer Park anymore, he doesn’t have to respect us anymore since we’re all in the same rank.”

“That's not true!” Chanyeol hurriedly contended. “I respect the both of you a lot. It’s just…” he tripped over his words. “I don’t find anyone interesting. I’m not even part of the interviewer’s panel, how would I even know who the applicants are?”

“Shouldn’t have passed his Captain’s test, huh,” Minseok said, staring at Junmyeon disapprovingly.

Junmyeon frowned back at him. “You were the one you passed him.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol confirmed as Minseok formed an ‘O’ with his mouth and set his coffee mug down.

“Come on, Chanyeol,” Minseok prodded. “Who is it?”

Grinning, Junmyeon nudged Chanyeol with his shoulder as he shared a conspiratorial look with Minseok. “Which applicant were you looking for?”

“Huh?” Chanyeol continued to feign confusion, eyes widening like saucers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“We saw you flipping through the applicants’ files yesterday even though you’re not part of the interviewer’s panel and you were smiling to yourself like an idiot at one of the profiles,” Minseok stated casually, looking at his nails.

“No, I wasn’t.” Chanyeol tried keeping his face straight but the corners of his mouth were twitching upwards as he remembered his conversation with Baekhyun on the plane, betraying his poorly crafted lie. “I wasn’t looking for anyone.”

“What do we do with Captain Park, really?” Junmyeon asked Minseok, disappointment lacing his voice. “He’s clearly lying to us.”

Not knowing what to say, Chanyeol kept his mouth shut. Denying it further would only make the guilt eat his conscience away but admitting to it meant a lifetime’s worth of teasing from his two seniors. It wasn’t like Chanyeol had never been interested in anyone from the company before, but it was all just harmless flirting.

Chanyeol was extremely well-liked in the company – he had the charm and mannerisms of a perfect gentleman, he was smart and skilled, and it also helped that he was easy on the eyes. There were a number of girls, mostly the air stewardesses (because the ground staff didn’t see him enough) who would fall over their feet to talk to him while there were several male pilots (because the female ones didn’t really care about him) who wanted to be him. Occasionally, some of them even wanted to be with him. But that was it. Because Chanyeol fooled around, he was the king of no strings attached, and he didn’t do commitments.

He had never been interested in meeting anyone for the second time but there was something about Baekhyun that had intrigued him and had made him want to see the other again if he had the chance to, even if it was just to have a conversation about their hobbies (not that Chanyeol had many). There was something about how passionate Baekhyun had been about flying that made a strong impact on him. It’d be good to meet Baekhyun again because the other was an interesting guy and Chanyeol would look forward to it. But it didn’t really matter even if he didn’t see the other again. After all, Baekhyun was only a stranger at the end of the day.

“Give me a name and I’ll let you know if he got in,” Junmyeon offered.

Pressing his lips tightly together so that he wouldn’t slip out Baekhyun’s name by accident, Chanyeol stared at Junmyeon defiantly who mere grinned back widely.

“So it is a ‘he’!” Junmyeon exclaimed before looking at Minseok who rolled his eyes. “Pay up.” Turning back to Chanyeol, Junmyeon explained, “Minseok and I had a bet. He said it was a girl and I said it was a guy. Makes more sense for it to be a guy since girl applicants are so rare.”

“Air Stewardesses were included, remember?” Minseok quipped, passing five pieces of ten thousand won notes to Junmyeon. “What’s his name?”

Weighing the options in his mind, Chanyeol eventually sighed and gave in. There was nothing to lose from it, especially if he might not even see the other ever again (in case Baekhyun didn’t pass the final round). “Byun Baekhyun.”

Both Junmyeon and Minseok’s eyes widened as they stared at Chanyeol, making the younger Captain nervous.

“Byun Baekhyun?” Minseok clarified and Chanyeol nodded. Looking at Junmyeon, Minseok swallowed before continuing. “He didn’t turn up for the interview. We couldn’t get through to his phone either.”

Chanyeol’s mouth went dry. “Wha – what?”

“He didn’t turn up, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon repeated, pity in his eyes. “He got cold feet, maybe?” Junmyeon tried joking to lighten the atmosphere but Chanyeol’s face remained a ghostly pale.

“No way.” Chanyeol shook his head. “That can’t be.” He could remember clearly how excited Baekhyun had been talking about becoming a pilot and how he would ace the interview. There was no way that Baekhyun would have forgone his interview for no reason. It was the final interview for him to officially become a cadet and seeing the way Baekhyun talked about being a pilot like his whole life depended on it, Chanyeol doubted that the other would give up just like that. “Why?”

“Who knows?” Junmyeon said with a shrug and Minseok patted Chanyeol on the shoulder.

Hand shaking, Chanyeol reached out for his paper cup to take another sip. The coffee tasted even more bitter now but Chanyeol couldn’t even scowl at the drink, mind too wrapped up over a man who he didn’t even know that well but who could light up his face with a simple smile.

> > > > > ✈

4 years later

“…what do you think?”

Blinking, Chanyeol looked blankly at Junmyeon. “Huh?”

At thirty-years-old, Chanyeol thought he would have been better at listening and stopped zoning out at random moments.

“Forget it,” Junmyeon muttered, shaking his head in despair. “I’m not going to repeat everything.” Placing his palms on the table, Junmyeon very patiently summarised his pitch. “I’m creating a program called ‘Pilots in the Sky’ and its acronym will be ‘PITS’, so it’ll be known as the ‘PITS Program’.”

Nodding, Chanyeol smiled at Junmyeon encouragingly. “Sounds good.”

“It’s a program to give a chance to those who can’t qualify to become a cadet through the “conventional route”.” Junmyeon illustrated his point by making inverted speech bubbles with his fingers. “Like through flying school or the Pilot Academy, et cetera. The PITS Program will be an opportunity for those who have longed to become pilots. For those who dream of flying planes in their sleep. It’s something like a vocational pilot course.” Pointing his index finger at Chanyeol, Junmyeon’s eyes sparkled. “The best part about this program is that it’ll be fully subsidised for all of its participants. That’s what I meant by the “conventional route” too.” He made the inverted commas again. “Some people just don’t have that money to enroll into flying courses and that’s just really unfair, right? So, what do you think?”

Chanyeol grinned because despite Junmyeon claiming that he wouldn’t repeat everything, he had clearly repeated everything. It sounded really good though and Chanyeol wasn’t the least bit surprised. Junmyeon was a good guy and Chanyeol had always known that, ever since the day he had joined Seoular Air. Even though Junmyeon was the boss’ son, he never flaunted his position or abused his power before. The only time he would ever make use of his status would be for reasons like this – introducing new and helpful programs to integrate more capable people who didn’t have the opportunity into the company.

“I’ll need instructors, of course. I’ve gotten Captain Kim,” Junmyeon paused. “Minseok,” he clarified. “Myself, and I was thinking about asking you.”

It was a great program and the chances of Chanyeol’s profile rising in the company would be high because of this. That meant a higher paycheck and a more flexible flying schedule, but Chanyeol wasn’t sure if he was up for it. The past four years of being Captain had been a breeze and Chanyeol was still incredibly well-liked in the company though he had toned down on the flirting a whole lot. Occasionally, he thought about a young man who was going to become a pilot. Most of the time, he stared at the sky, wondering if they were standing under the same sky. “I don’t know, Junmyeon…”

“Just think about it, okay?” Junmyeon answered quickly as if he had guessed what Chanyeol’s response would be. “But I already submitted your name to the boss because he needed the proposal ASAP.”

“Oh okay…” As the words sunk in, Chanyeol whipped his head to stare at Junmyeon in disbelief. “You what?!”

Standing up, Junmyeon patted Chanyeol on the back before picking up his coffee. “It’ll do you good. Trust me.”

> > > > > ✈

Trusting Junmyeon had turned out to be the right thing.

“Junmyeon, Junmyeon, Junmyeon,” Chanyeol called as he burst into the staff cafeteria, causing a few heads to turn to him. But he ignored them all as he looked around urgently, trying to spot the boss’ son and finding him quickly.

In long strides, he hurriedly made his way to where Junmyeon and Minseok were sitting and slammed a file on top of the table.

“This better be good,” Minseok grumbled and picked up the file.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said the moment Minseok flipped open to the first page. “He applied for the PITS Program.” Swallowing, Chanyeol sat down and looked between his two seniors expectantly.

Grinning, Minseok closed the file after flipping through a few pages and then handing it over to Junmyeon who did the same. Closing the file, Junmyeon placed it on the table, resting his elbow over it.

“His achievements are brilliant,” Minseok commented.

“Really?” Chanyeol reached over for the file. “Let me see.” Though he didn’t really have to look. He could still remember how easily Baekhyun excelled at basically everything he did. According to the other anyway, but Chanyeol didn’t doubt him. Baekhyun looked like the kind of guy who could go on for hours and hours and do everything in his effort just to be perfect. He also looked like the kind of guy who would succeed with his hard work.

Rolling his eyes, Junmyeon slapped Chanyeol’s hand away. “Didn’t you already read everything in this file?”

Ducking his head in embarrassment, Chanyeol shook his head. “I rushed over here as soon as I saw his name.”

“You know we’ll be looking through these applications too, right?” Minseok laughed.

“He’s just too excited about meeting the person who gave his life a meaning again,” Junmyeon pointed out and Minseok smiled knowingly. He picked up the file and put it into his briefcase. “We can read all about his achievements back in my office later, okay?”

Grinning, Chanyeol nodded happily.

He remembered wanting to phone Baekhyun’s number four years back after he had found out that the other hadn’t turned up for the interview. But then he hadn’t had Baekhyun’s number back then so he had to strike off that option. Neither Junmyeon nor Minseok had even bothered suggesting to Chanyeol to look for Baekhyun on some social media platform because of how much of a workaholic the younger Captain was. The only messaging application he had was KakaoTalk so that he could communicate with his family and friends, mostly the former. Besides, Baekhyun hadn’t even been a friend or an acquaintance, so Chanyeol hadn’t really thought much about trying to look for him.

That was why there was a part of him that was confused at why he was so eager about seeing someone who was more a stranger than a friend again. He really couldn’t explain why but the mere prospect of meeting Baekhyun again made his heart soar and he was suddenly feeling more alive than he had been the past four years. It was strange.

Then he thought about what Junmyeon had just said – ‘the person who gave his life a meaning’. Was his senior right after all? Did Baekhyun give Chanyeol’s life a meaning?

Chanyeol was by no means a genius, but he was exceptionally talented at flying. It was like a gift. Piloting a plane had been second nature to him the moment he had first held the control wheel and had flown in the skies. Going through the ranks had been easy – a Cadet to a Second Officer to a First Officer, and now a Captain. Never for a moment had Chanyeol thought that he needed to work hard for it because he was a natural. But that didn’t mean that he was conceited either. Chanyeol played by the rule book more strictly than any pilot did (save Junmyeon and Minseok) and abided to every regulation stringently like it was the law.

Then came Baekhyun – smart, witty, and confident Byun Baekhyun who had to spend twelve hours a day studying to graduate at the top of the Pilot Academy. Who spent almost all of his free time and extra cash to fly more miles to become the first Cadet in history to have so many flying hours under his belt. Who made Chanyeol believe that there were some things, many things, that were worth putting in hard work and effort for.

Chanyeol, who had never believed in hard work and effort. Chanyeol, who was as confident about his skills as he was about his looks. Chanyeol, who believed that he could land a plane with both eyes closed. Chanyeol, who passed every single day with joy and laughter, but had no meaning to his life at the end of the day.

“He did give me a new meaning to life, didn’t he?” Chanyeol said to no one.

> > > > > ✈

Leaning against the wall just outside the waiting room, Chanyeol waited for Baekhyun to appear, smiling at the other applicants who were on their way in. A few minutes later, Baekhyun was turning the corner and coming into view. He looked the same as he did back then – short black silky hair, soft features, that mole at the right corner of his upper lip.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called when the shorter man walked past him, making Baekhyun freeze on the spot upon hearing his own name.

Spinning around, Baekhyun lifted a finger tentatively as he stared at Chanyeol. “Do I know you?”

Smirking, Chanyeol walked towards him. “I think you do.”

A moment later, recognition dawned on Baekhyun’s face. “Chanyeol?”

“See.” Chanyeol leaned against the wall again. “You do remember.”

“You had a pet mouse. That was quite impressionable.” Baekhyun grinned, pulling the strap of his bag as he continued staring into Chanyeol’s eyes. “What’s your excuse for remembering me?”

“Haughty wannabe pilot turning up for a fully-funded pilot program? You’re quite hard to miss,” Chanyeol joked, hoping that Baekhyun wouldn’t take offence.

Luckily, he didn’t and laughed instead before he stopped abruptly. Taking a step back, Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Chanyeol from top to toe. “You’re a pilot?” he asked in surprise. “You’re a Captain?” he said, disbelief shining in his eyes as made eye-contact with Chanyeol again. “I can’t believe you tricked me!”

“I didn’t trick you.” Chanyeol shrugged unapologetically, looking smugly at Baekhyun. “You didn’t ask.”

Rolling his eyes fondly, Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol, this time shyly. “I can’t believe you’re a Captain.”

“You can gush about how handsome I am later,” Chanyeol teased, making Baekhyun blush slightly as the latter turned his head to cover his embarrassment up with a cough. “The briefing’s about to begin.” Having said that, he ushered Baekhyun into the room, causing everyone’s eyes to land on them as soon as they entered.

Junmyeon scowled at him while Minseok smirked knowingly and Chanyeol just flashed his most charming smile to them.

It took approximately half an hour for Junmyeon to brief the applicants who had turned up for the interview before Baekhyun was sitting in the interview room in front of the three interviewers – Minseok, Junmyeon, and Chanyeol.

“My name is Byun Baekhyun and I am twenty-five this year. I know that being a pilot is very challenging but I am prepared to take on any challenge that comes my way. After graduating from middle school, I immediately joined the Pilot Academy and I graduated with perfect scores at the top. After which, I enlisted in the Air Force and when my military service was up, I applied to be a pilot in Seoular. I was shortlisted and then made it all the way until the final interview.” Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun briefly looked at his hands before he was making eye-contact with the interviewers again. “That was four years ago.”

The panel of interviewers made a sound of approval and Baekhyun beamed proudly when Chanyeol nodded at him with a small smirk playing on his lips.

“Why aren’t you one of our young pilots now?” Junmyeon asked kindly, prompting Baekhyun to fill in the details that he already knew. “There’s no way that Seoular Air wouldn’t have accepted someone like you who has such a stellar record. You graduated at the top of your batch, you said?” Baekhyun nodded. “It’s not easy to make it until the final round of interviews too. And we’ve seen your profile. Your track record is very impressive.”

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun continued. “Unfortunately, I met with an accident on my way to where Seoular’s headquarters are. I was in a cab and it was hit by a drunk driver. After that, I was admitted to the hospital and the doctors found that my right hand had sustained some injury. Its nerves were damaged.”

“Wouldn’t that be a problem for a pilot?” Minseok asked because it was standard procedure.

“My hand is completely healed now,” Baekhyun answered confidently. “But no mainstream academies would accept me even after I passed all of their physical tests.”

“A shame, don’t you agree?” Chanyeol said, addressing the other two interviewers who easily nodded in agreement. “You would make a great pilot.”

Nodding eagerly, Baekhyun sat forward in the chair. “I love the sky. So much that I want to be a part of it and that’s why I want to fly. It’s been my dream since I was five and I’m confident that I will make an excellent pilot.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Chanyeol laughed, amused at Baekhyun’s subtle correction of his word choice.

“We’ll have to conduct those physical tests for you some time soon,” Junmyeon concluded the interview and thanked Baekhyun for his time.

Two hours later and the last applicant left the room.

“You guys can go ahead,” Chanyeol told his Minseok and Junmyeon, waving to them and watching until their back disappeared past the wall before heading to the waiting area where he surprisingly found Baekhyun. He would have thought the other had gone home by now.

Quietly walking into the room, Chanyeol grinned when he saw that Baekhyun was so engrossed in his phone that he didn’t even look up when Chanyeol approached, not even when there was an obvious shadow right in front of him.

“What are you watching?”

Baekhyun jumped. “Oh my god.” The paper cup he had been holding in his other hand flew from his grip, splashing the remaining of its contents onto his shirt. “Ah fu – I mean oh no.”

Chanyeol laughed at Baekhyun’s little correction. He bit back another laugh as he watched Baekhyun slightly flailing around trying to find something he could use to dab at his now turning translucent white shirt in hopes of drying it. But Baekhyun remained useless with only one hand free, the other still clutching on tightly to his phone.

Finally taking pity on Baekhyun and because the wet spot was getting too distracting, Chanyeol pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Baekhyun.

Looking at the handkerchief, a surprised expression dawned on Baekhyun’s face but he accepted it anyway, muttering a quick thank you and proceeded at his futile attempts to dry the spot.

“So, what got you so captivated?” Chanyeol asked, a teasing lilt in his voice matching the glint in his eyes.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” Baekhyun complained, brows furrowed as he continued dabbing furiously at the spot, giving up when he realised that it was the best he could do. Sighing in resignation, Baekhyun dropped his hand, looking uncomfortable about how the wet patch would be touching his chest until it dries.

Nodding his head towards Baekhyun’s phone, Chanyeol prompted for an answer. “So?”

Frown gone, Baekhyun replaced it with a sweet smile. “Here, look.” He turned his phone around so that Chanyeol could see what was on the screen. “Yesterday’s solar eclipse. I couldn’t see it because I was on the train. Did you see it?”

Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s phone, flipping through a few photos before returning it to its owner and Baekhyun resumed looking at more of them. “Didn’t see it either. I was stuck in the office doing some administrative stuff to finalise PITS.”

Baekhyun made a hum of acknowledgement and his eyes flickered up briefly for a second before it was back to the screen.

“I can’t believe you’re more interested in looking at photos of the eclipse when there’s something more interesting for you to look at now.”

Chuckling, Baekhyun kept his phone and grinned at Chanyeol. “Like what?”

“Like me.”

“Funny,” Baekhyun laughed, his eyes shining with amusement and something akin to fondness, but Chanyeol didn’t want to think on it too much. “How I thought the same.”

“Did you?” Chanyeol’s interest was piqued. Maybe he could delude himself a little into thinking that Baekhyun might be fairly into him. At Baekhyun’s nod, Chanyeol smirked.

“I was waiting for you actually,” Baekhyun admitted as he kept his phone.

Chanyeol clicked his tongue. He was definitely into him. “Why?” Raising a finger to point at Baekhyun, Chanyeol narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to help you cheat just because you’re cute if that’s what you were thinking.”

“What!” Baekhyun made a face. “No! I’m not like that.” Pushing a hair out of his eye, Baekhyun pushed his chest out. “I’m that good.”

“Yeah, sure,” Chanyeol scoffed despite agreeing with Baekhyun in his heart. “So why were you waiting for me?”

“Oh right.” Baekhyun looked a little embarrassed for forgetting that he was the one who had something to talk to Chanyeol about. “How are you a pilot? A Captain at that!” he added, eyes flickering to the golden stripes on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“What do you mean how am I a pilot?” Chanyeol chuckled, wondering how in the world Baekhyun came up with such a question. “I’m a pilot because I joined the company.”

“I mean, I was telling you my whole life story about wanting to become a pilot and I even mentioned the company you’re working for and you didn’t think to mention that you are a pilot?” Baekhyun exclaimed, laughing.

“Any chance I can take you out for dinner at eight?” Chanyeol digressed. “We can talk all about it if you want.”

“A little late for dinner, no?”

Chanyeol scoffed. “What time do you sleep? Anyway, I have some interviewees to call back for the second round of interviews tomorrow so I only end work at eight.”

“I see,” Baekhyun said as he nodded thoughtfully. “But I can’t. Sorry?”

“Why? Are you busy?” The thought of Baekhyun having a boyfriend crossed Chanyeol’s mind but he crossed it out straight away. Baekhyun wouldn’t be flirting with him like that if he was in a relationship. Though what made Chanyeol think that Baekhyun was bi or gay in the first place, he didn’t remember. Call it gut feeling.

“I have to prepare for an interview tomorrow.”

“Confident, are we?” Chanyeol grinned.

“Yes,” Baekhyun answered straightforwardly. “And I think you have,” he paused to check his phone for the time. “Twenty minutes left for your lunch break so you should really go eat something if you can only get dinner after eight.” Flashing Chanyeol one last smile, Baekhyun moved past him.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called before the other left the room. “It’s good to be confident.” Then Baekhyun turned around to face him with a quizzical look. “But don’t be overly confident. Especially during an interview.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun had the decency to look sheepish. “Thanks. Thanks for the advice.” With a small wave, Baekhyun hurried out of the room, possibly mortified about how their conversation ended.

“Damn it,” Chanyeol cursed himself. He honestly didn’t have the intention to make Baekhyun feel bad about himself but he didn’t expect that the younger would feel embarrassed over it. Though in hindsight, it was a pretty insensitive thing to say, or at the very least, he could have phrased it in another, less awkward way.

Stuffing his hand into his right pocket, Chanyeol immediately noticed the absence of his handkerchief. He didn’t need much thinking before he remembered where it was – in Baekhyun’s hand. Fondly shaking his head, the side of his lips quirked up as he left the room.

> > > > > ✈

“Don’t let this get to your head, but we were all really impressed with you yesterday,” Minseok said as a way of starting the interviewing.

“Thank you.” Baekhyun nodded politely, a sweet smile gracing his face.

“Tell us more about why you want to be a pilot,” Chanyeol asked, leaning forward in his seat, staring at Baekhyun intently.

“Flying has been my dream since I was five and I also want to be a pilot because I get to fly around the world. Though of course, I understand that there will be some places that I won’t be able to visit because the world is just too big.”

Junmyeon laughed at that, nodding in agreement.

“I also wish to bring other people to all these different countries that I’ll have the chance to fly.” Gesturing with his hands, Baekhyun continued talking animatedly. “It’s like delivering a group of strangers to a destination where they’re going for fun, or maybe for work, or to visit a family member. There are so many reasons for someone to get on a plane and I really like the idea that I’ll be the one helping them travel to another country.”

“That’s a nice sentiment,” Minseok remarked, making Baekhyun smile again.

Chanyeol had to bite back his own comment – “You have a really cute smile” – though. Staring at Baekhyun, Chanyeol racked his brain for something to say. When Minseok and Junmyeon glanced at him, he cleared his throat. “Okay, moving on now to a standard question that we ask every applicant.” Seeing that Baekhyun was paying him full attention, Chanyeol had to bite his tongue from chuckling at how earnest Baekhyun looked. “What is the difference between a two-engine plane and a four-engine plane?”

Unsurprisingly, Baekhyun didn’t seem caught off-guard by the question. “The difference is – ”

“You don’t have to answer right away. All candidates have an hour to think about it over lunch,” Junmyeon said with a laugh and Baekhyun pressed his lips together, clearly embarrassed, but he held his head high and continued looking at his three interviewers respectfully. “Though seeing as you already know the answer, here’s another question for you. In your personal opinion, what do you think is the most important thing a pilot should have?”

“In my personal opinion?” Baekhyun clarified, a trace of doubt in his voice.

“There’s no right or wrong answer so don’t work yourself up over this,” Minseok assured. “Just be prepared to blow us away with your first answer and then we’ll be so impressed that we won’t even judge what you say for the second question,” he joked and Baekhyun laughed heartily.

Chanyeol found that he liked hearing Baekhyun laugh. That he liked seeing Baekhyun laugh. How the other’s mouth turned a unique rectangular shape when he opened his mouth, how his eyes sparkled so brightly even as they crinkled at the corners, and the sounds was simply adorable.

“We’ll call you back in again later.” Chanyeol ended the interview, thinking to himself that he shouldn't be too distracted to interview the next applicant.

After what seemed like forever, the individual interviews ended. Chanyeol only had a twenty-minute break before the first round of group interviews started. No doubt, there would be one or two applicants in every two to three groups giving ridiculous but hilarious answers to the question that would serve well as a story Chanyeol could tell on drinking night outs.

Though Chanyeol didn’t care much for the rubbish that such applicants were going to say. He didn’t understand why people who weren’t passionate about being a pilot at all would apply. Then he thought again and came to a conclusion pretty quickly the second time – the course was free. Of course, people would take advantage of such a good deal. But then it was tiring for the interviewers, Chanyeol felt tired personally. Because they had to sit through everyone, even those who weren’t serious and those who had no clue about what was going on. The good applicants like Baekhyun, were the only source of light in the very dark and cloudy sky for Chanyeol.

Rounding a corner, Chanyeol saw Baekhyun walking out of the men’s washroom and decided to corner him.

Literally.

Placing a hand against the wall, Chanyeol effectively blocked his path.

“Oh my god.” Baekhyun jumped, hand flying to his chest.

“Just Chanyeol.” Smirking at Baekhyun, Chanyeol moved nearer and the other instinctively took a step backwards. “You’ve really got to stop calling me ‘god’.”

Baekhyun scowled. “It’s an exclamation.” He glared at Chanyeol’s offending hand in his way. “And you’ve really got to stop sneaking up on me like that.”

“I wasn’t sneaking up on you. We crossed paths and I decided to say ‘hi’.”

“No,” Baekhyun said and then he pointed at Chanyeol’s hand. “You merely blocked my way. I didn’t get a ‘hi’.” Unimpressed, Baekhyun took a step closer to Chanyeol and folded his arms.

Leaning forward, Chanyeol stopped when his lips were next to Baekhyun’s ear. “Hi then,” he dropped his voice. Pulling away, he was pleased to see that there was a light blush tinging Baekhyun’s cheeks. “Better?”

“What do you want?” Baekhyun asked even as he was obviously trying to contain his feelings from showing too much.

“What were you planning to say to the second question?”

Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Baekhyun took a step back again. “Are you here to give me tips?” Lips curling into a lazy smirk, Baekhyun leaned against the wall, his posture insouciant. “I thought you didn’t do that.”

“Just tell me your answer,” Chanyeol insisted with a laugh. “Take it as a mock interview.”

Still staring at Chanyeol questionably, Baekhyun eventually shrugged. “Fine. No harm telling you anyway. I want to say ‘skill’. That skill is the most important thing a pilot should have.”

Keeping his face passive, Chanyeol nodded for Baekhyun to explain.

“Because a skilful pilot can do just about anything,” Baekhyun said, brows knitting together as he stared at Chanyeol, wondering why the older man would ask a question like that.

“And?” Chanyeol prompted.

“And that’s why having skill is important?” Baekhyun frowned at his own words. “Now that just sounded stupid. Give me a moment.” Shaking his head, he raised his hand, telling Chanyeol to wait for him to gather his thoughts and Chanyeol could only shake his head fondly. “Okay,” he said after a while. “The most important thing a pilot should have is skill because with skill, a pilot will be able to manoeuvre the plane even in bad or unpredictable weather conditions. Having skill also means that a pilot is capable of doing his or her job properly and that means that the passengers and cabin crew can have faith in him or her. That is why skill is the most important attribute a pilot should have.”

Quirking his lips, Chanyeol cocked his head to the side. “Fair point.”

“But?” Baekhyun prodded. “I can sense a ‘but’ there.”

Smiling, Chanyeol nodded. “But don’t you think there’s anything else that’s more important than having skill?”

Pondering for a moment, Baekhyun absentmindedly brought his fingers to his lower lip, subconsciously tracing the pink flesh.

Chanyeol gulped shakily, inappropriately entranced by the movement. He faked a cough so that he could cover his mouth and look away, hoping to himself and praying to every God in the sky that his face wasn’t beetroot red.

“Not really,” Baekhyun concluded, frowning as if he was still thinking. “Like I said, with skill, a pilot can do just about everything. That’s in my opinion anyway. A penny for your thoughts?”

Pressing his lips together, Chanyeol contemplated not saying anything.

“If you have no personal opinion on the matter, then I shall get going and prepare myself!” Lips curving up, Baekhyun ducked under Chanyeol’s arm and was about to make his escape when Chanyeol stopped him, pulling his hand back before letting go quickly.

“Baekhyun, don’t say skill later…” Chanyeol said softly, not facing Baekhyun. “Say that ‘a sense of safety’ is the most important thing a pilot should have. Your answer isn’t going to affect our final decision. You’re getting in anyway.” When Baekhyun’s eyes widened in shock, Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly. “No point keeping an obvious secret. But as I was saying, say ‘a sense of safety’. Skill is required, obviously. And it’s good to be skilful but without caring about everyone’s safety, no matter how much skill you have, you’re not fit to fly a plane. Because when you’re in the cockpit holding the control wheel, the lives of hundreds of people literally rest in your hands.”

Licking his bottom lip, Baekhyun nodded, looking a little shameful. “Got it.” Eyes meeting Chanyeol’s again, Baekhyun gave him a small smile before slipping past him and out of the hallway.

Once again, Chanyeol succeeded in making Baekhyun feel bad about himself.

“Damn it!” Chanyeol growled, frustrated as he punched the top of a desk, wincing at the impact. He raised his hand and blew at his knuckles while considering how he should give advice to Baekhyun next time without sounding like a condescending prick.

> > > > > ✈

After two months of choosing applicants, conducting interviews and selecting the final candidates, the PITS Program was down to twelve members, leaving three recruits to each instructor. Junmyeon had wanted to take in four more candidates but that would have gone over the budget and the company had not been willing to provide more resources. It was understandable though since a fully sponsored cadet course for even one person was already a lot. But this had left the three instructors in endless meetings and late night discussions over Skype over whose names to put in the final list. They had eventually generated the list a few hours before they had to submit the names to the company.

“We’ll spend one week here in Korea where we’ll give you some theory lessons about aviation. You’ll also be sitting through very basic tests so that we know you all truly have your foundations down. While there will be lessons, we also expect a lot of effort on your part. Remember that this is a fully funded course and remember how lucky each and every one of you are to have this privilege. On the instructors’ side, we’ll all do our part in making your learning experience enjoyable but we’ll also ensure that you’ll be well-equipped with the skills to become a Second Officer by the end of this six-months long program.” Junmyeon smiled.

Minseok was next to address the class. “Remember this as well – just because you’re in the program now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be dropped. There will be ten tests here in total and if you fail two, you’ll be kicked out of PITS. Your Basic Aircraft Knowledge among other things will be tested so read your textbooks and be prepared. Do you understand?”

A resounding ‘yes’ echoed in the classroom.

Eyes scanning the classroom, Chanyeol grinned when he spotted Baekhyun in the middle row on the left. “After the week is up, we’re going to London.” The classroom was buzzing within seconds, candidates turning to each other excitedly and gushing about going to London. After a moment, they quietened down and Chanyeol’s expression hardened. “We’ll be in London for four months, mostly for flying lessons but we’ll cover some of the theory work there as well. The remaining theory lessons will be conducted here in Seoul after four months. At the same time, you’ll be expected to participate in flight simulators and apply the knowledge that you have learnt.” Chanyeol paused. “Any questions so far?”

“No, sir,” almost everyone answered at the same time, there were a few uncoordinated ones but Chanyeol was sure that they would all be literally singing the same tune by the end of the PITS Program.

“You will be graded both by your performance in class and conduct outside of class. The second part will only start after we reach London.” Eyes briefly flickering to Baekhyun, Chanyeol then faced the rest of the class again. “I know that some of you have already been to the Pilot Academy or a flying school before and have a fair amount of flying experience but that doesn’t mean that you can slack off during our sessions in London. Or anywhere for that matter. Be it in Seoul or in London, we expect each and every single one of you to take the course very seriously.”

Chanyeol allowed a moment for the cadets to silently internalise his words. Unable to help himself, he glanced at Baekhyun who had an expressionless look on his face and Chanyeol hoped that Baekhyun wouldn’t think that he was picking on him or insinuating anything.

“If there are no questions, then you’re dismissed,” Minseok said, nodding to the cadets.

“Be punctual for class tomorrow,” Junmyeon reminded the class, a warning tone in his voice. “We don’t tolerate latecomers.”

As the classroom emptied out, Baekhyun was the only remaining student left and Chanyeol, the only instructor. Walking away from the desk at the front, Chanyeol approached Baekhyun who looked like he was almost crawling on the floor. The other was currently looking around the table, ducking his head to scan the floor. “Looking for something?”

Upon hearing Chanyeol’s voice, Baekhyun jumped in his seat, hand banging into the desk in front of him but he seemed too shock to even notice the dull pain. “You’ve really got to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” Chanyeol asked innocently, blinking his eyes.

“Sneaking up on me!”

“I’m not,” Chanyeol said with a laugh. “Class has ended.”

“I know.” There was a whining edge to Baekhyun’s tone and Chanyeol had to bite his lower lip to stifle a chuckle at how adorable Baekhyun had sounded. “But I lost something and I’m looking for it.” Momentarily stopping his search, Baekhyun glanced up at Chanyeol. “Don’t just stand there! Help me find it! It’s a metal keychain in the shape of the plane. Really tiny and it has roller wheels below so I’m afraid that it might have – ”

“Rolled away?” Chanyeol teased.

“Just help me, will you?” Baekhyun sounded exasperated enough for Chanyeol to get to work immediately.

After a few minutes, Chanyeol spotted a silver object amidst the navy blue carpeted floor. Grinning, he bent down and picked it up. It was the airplane keychain. Glancing over his shoulder, Chanyeol saw Baekhyun searching the floor at the other side of the classroom and chuckled softly. “Baekhyun, come here,” he called and the younger man rushed over to him so quickly that he almost tripped over one of the rolling chairs.

“Did you find it?”

“That depends on your answer to my next question,” Chanyeol told Baekhyun very seriously, a hint of sternness in his voice.

“That means you found it,” Baekhyun concluded, unimpressed as he folded his arms across his chest. “What do you want?”

“Can I take you out for dinner tonight?”

Scoffing, Baekhyun rolled his eyes but there was a small smile on his lips betraying his true feelings and he let his hands fall to his sides. Stretching one hand towards Chanyeol, palm facing up, Baekhyun looked Chanyeol straight in the eye. “Give it.”

With a shrug, Chanyeol hooked the keychain’s ring around his index finger before releasing the plane from his palm, letting it dangle in front of Baekhyun’s face. As the other reached for it, Chanyeol raised his hand high above his hand so that it was well out of Baekhyun’s reach. “Dinner,” Chanyeol repeated, a triumphant smirk on his face.

On the other hand, Baekhyun merely rolled his eyes, none of the previous fondness on his face anymore. Then he jumped and unceremoniously pulled the keychain from Chanyeol’s finger before smirking at Chanyeol mockingly. Swinging the keychain in front of Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s grin widened at Chanyeol’s scowl. “Thanks.”

Tucking the keychain safely into his bag, Baekhyun flashed Chanyeol a sweet smile before making his way towards the door.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called the same time Baekhyun’s hand stopped on the door handle.

When Baekhyun turned around, there was a teasing smile on his face and Chanyeol couldn’t help but feel that he just got played.

“I can’t do dinner tonight because there are classes tomorrow.”

“But?” Chanyeol prompted, a grin settling on his face. “I can sense a ‘but’ there.”

The corners of Baekhyun’s lips twitched upwards. “But I can do dinner on Saturday after the last class and before we go to London.”

“Fine with me.” Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly, secretly pleased to note that Baekhyun was taking the PITS Program seriously. “See you around then, Byun Baekhyun.”

> > > > > ✈

“So, how do you find the classes?” Chanyeol asked Baekhyun after they settled for eating at a street side store. The food was good enough that the pilots from Seoular constantly visited the small tent for midday snacks or late night dinners such as the one they were having then.

“Dull yet refreshing,” Baekhyun answered straightforwardly with a shrug, biting into his rice cake and moaning at how good it tasted.

Laughing, Chanyeol dug into his pancake. “Dull?”

“And refreshing,” Baekhyun corrected instantly, pointing the now empty wooden stick at Chanyeol warningly.

“Why?” Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun’s hand away.

Swallowing another piece of rice cake, Baekhyun drank some soju. His face was already slightly red even though he hadn’t drunk that much. “Because I’ve already learnt it all at the Pilot Academy and I’m sure most of the candidates did too. That’s why they were chosen in the first place, right?”

Chanyeol didn’t respond but his expression was enough to confirm Baekhyun’s suspicion. It hadn’t been that he or Minseok or Junmyeon had chosen those with past experiences on purpose but those people had matched who they had wanted. It made perfect sense though, that the people who were passionate about flying had been the ones who had made the effort to enrol in some sort of course before, save a few who hadn’t had the money.

“But it’s also refreshing because…” Leaning back against his palms, Baekhyun turned his head to the side to stare at the night sky. “It’s been so long since my last lesson. It has only been four years, really, but it already feels like an eternity since I was up in the sky.”

“I could fly you up there in a light aircraft if you wanted,” Chanyeol suggested casually despite truly meaning the words. But he was hoping that Baekhyun wouldn’t see past his act of indifference.

“No,” Baekhyun said and Chanyeol felt his heart sink a little. “I want to be the one flying up there by myself.” There was a distant look in Baekhyun’s eyes as he continued staring at the sky as if he was thinking back to the last time he had flown in a plane. Then he turned to Chanyeol with a small smile. “I want to be the one flying you up in a light aircraft.”

Eyes softening, Chanyeol nodded. He wasn’t sure if Baekhyun had been joking but he was willing to let himself believe that Baekhyun had been serious. He could also understand where Baekhyun was coming from because the feeling of being in the sky while you were the one flying was extremely different from letting someone bring you up there. Chanyeol felt the same.

“Two First Officers are coming along with us to London by the way,” Chanyeol said suddenly, not knowing why he wanted to share that piece of information with Baekhyun.

“Are you supposed to tell me that?”

Chanyeol stole a piece of Baekhyun’s rice cake and shrugged. “It’s not a secret.”

“One day, you’re going to tell me a secret and it would be too late for you to retract the statement,” Baekhyun said drily.

Chanyeol laughed. “We shall see.” Fingers tapping against the soju bottle, Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun. “What would you do if I ever slip out a secret to you by accident? Rat on me?”

“Depends if I have an incentive not to,” Baekhyun offered, a hint of playfulness in his voice and Chanyeol didn’t want to overthink but Baekhyun was definitely at least ten percent interested in him. “What about the First Officers anyway? Did you want to tell me anything about them or did you just want to let me know that they’re going to be at London too?”

“They were from your batch.”

Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, face thoughtful. “Oh.”

“Sorry,” Chanyeol muttered quickly, taking a swig from the bottle to cover up the bitterness left behind by the words he had said. “Did I make it awkward?”

“Not exactly,” Baekhyun said honestly. “It’s been four years and I got into the best program any South Korean airline can offer for me to become a pilot just when I had thought about giving up on my dream.”

“Did you?” Chanyeol asked, surprised. Baekhyun didn’t seem like the type to give up. But then again, Chanyeol didn’t know that much about Baekhyun either. “Why? I thought you loved flying?”

“I do love flying,” Baekhyun laughed. “But the disappointment was too much. I came to Seoul when I was seventeen, fresh out of middle school with all of my savings and some money from my parents so that I could enrol in the Pilot Academy. I took a longer time to graduate actually because I couldn’t pay for some of my lessons at times.”

Chanyeol nodded as he listened to Baekhyun’s story. He knew that Baekhyun had taken a year longer than normal to graduate but he hadn’t known why. Though he should have had expected money to be the problem. That was usually the case.

“Whenever I wasn’t at the school, I was working to pay off my school fees. And that moment when I graduated at the top of my batch…” Baekhyun’s words were starting to slur a little and Chanyeol smiled, wondering if Baekhyun was only telling him so much because the other was tipsy. Then he remembered how talkative Baekhyun had been the first time they had been even when he had been completely sober and concluded that Baekhyun was just a very chatty person. “That was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

“When were you the proudest?”

“When I got to the final interview of Seoular, of course,” Baekhyun said wistfully. “I remember how happy I was, I couldn’t sleep that night after getting the news. I called my parents and told them about it and they were so happy for me too. And I wanted to go back to Bucheon to celebrate with them but they told me to save my money.” Baekhyun chuckled, looking down at his hands. “I never told them how much my school fees were but I guessed they had an inkling that I had to pay a hefty sum to get through the academy.”

“What happened after?” Chanyeol usually acted like he was interested in other people’s life stories when he brought them out on dates (though he wasn’t sure if this could be considered a date). That was the polite thing to do. And seeing that Chanyeol never did second dates, he didn’t have to remember anything about the other person either. But Baekhyun was different and Chanyeol found himself genuinely intrigued, leaning forward in his seat as he paid his full attention to Baekhyun.

“After that, I got into an accident but you already know that.” Baekhyun lifted his hand to point at Chanyeol but he must be quite inebriated because his hand was swaying. “I got better of course and you already know that too…” his voice grew softer towards the end. “Then no airlines would accept me because my hand might have a relapse or some bullshit excuse they came up with. Even Seoular didn’t want me. I knew that the real reason was that I’m old and it would be a waste of resources on me. My hand took too long to recover…it took two years and I was already twenty-three by then. Most recruits are what? Twenty? Twenty-one? I was past my prime. It wasn’t the airlines’ fault.” Sighing, Baekhyun stared at his empty soju glass. “I didn’t tell my parents about my injury. I didn’t want them to be disappointed.”

“You didn’t?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened in shock. His brain was starting to feel a little fuzzy from the alcohol but Baekhyun’s revelation made him sober up.

“They probably think I’ve been a pilot for four years,” Baekhyun snorted. “And I didn’t have the heart to correct them.” Finally meeting Chanyeol’s eyes again, there was a sincerity in there that made him look vulnerable and exposed. “That’s why succeeding in PITS is so important for me.”

A comfortable silence fell between them as Baekhyun continued eating small pieces of pancakes from Chanyeol’s plate.

“It’s been so long since I had a good drink. I couldn’t drink for two entire years while my hand was recovering.” Frowning, Baekhyun shook his head. “Make that three. I couldn’t drink the year after it healed. I don’t exactly like drinking but drinking helps me forget the fact that I should have been a pilot already.”

Chanyeol hummed, pushing his food around his plate, happy to let Baekhyun eat them all.

“Are they good?” Baekhyun asked suddenly. “The two First Officers coming along with us.”

Laughing, Chanyeol took another swig from the soju bottle. “Of course, they’re good. What sort of a question is that?”

Baekhyun laughed along, the sound melodious to Chanyeol’s ears. “I meant, are they like exceptionally good or something?”

Chanyeol quickly nodded. “They are. I was quite surprised actually because of their backgrounds. Jongin wanted to become a dancer and Kyungsoo wanted to become a writer.” He chuckled at the memory when he had first trained them. “They’re so dissimilar, much like chalk and cheese. And guess what? They ended up dating each other.” Quirking his lips, Chanyeol grinned at Baekhyun, “But yeah, they’re good. Better than the average I would say.”

“That’s nice,” Baekhyun said, smiling a little, a longing look on his face.

Shrugging, Chanyeol continued eating his food, finding it difficult to chew a particularly sticky rice cake. After a moment, he smiled at Baekhyun, eyes sincere. “But you would have been the best.”

They were just words of comfort, they both knew that. But the smile that Baekhyun awarded Chanyeol with lit up his whole face and Chanyeol thought that Baekhyun’s smile was probably the brightest thing in the world that night, even brighter than the moon.

> > > > > ✈

The plane ride to London had been rather uneventful by Chanyeol’s standards. He had expected at least two of the cadets to panic over forgetting to bring something but none of them had. While he had slept through most of it, he had heard Junmyeon giving random aircraft trivia to the cadets at times, grinning proudly to himself when he had heard Baekhyun’s confident answer to almost every single question until Junmyeon had laughed and had told him to give other the cadets a chance.

They settled in a house inside a flying field – it was all Seoular Airline’s property anyway. After giving the cadets half an hour to settle down, they then all gathered in the hangar for the instructors to brief them on their upcoming four months. All of the cadets, save Baekhyun, looked surprised at the unexpected presence of two other pilots in uniform.

“We have First Officer Do and First Officer Kim with us for the first two weeks. They are mainly here to assist us in teaching you about the basics of flying,” Junmyeon explained the two’s presence first to clear up the confusion in the air. “If you’d like to hear stories about their time as a cadet, you can ask them two. Though their stories and your experience will greatly differ so just take it as summary of what to expect at the end of the program.” Then he handed the time over to Chanyeol while Minseok walked around to check the planes.

“As we have briefed all of you back in Korea, there will be three separate teams in total, four in each team, headed by me, Captain Kim,” he gestured to Junmyeon. “And Captain Kim,” he said as he waved in Minseok’s direction. Grinning, Chanyeol could see a few of the cadets trying to contain their laughter. “I know we have a whole lot of Kims here and it might cause some confusion so the two captains have come to a compromise that over here, you all will be addressing Captain Kim Junmyeon as Captain Junmyeon and Captain Kim Minseok as Captain Kim.”

A chorus of laughter came from the cadets and Chanyeol smiled, waiting patiently until they quietened down.

“I’ll read out the names now so listen carefully. Under my team, there’s,” Chanyeol paused at the first name and briefly glanced at Junmyeon who nodded for him to continue. “Byun Baekhyun,” he read, swallowing when a few murmurs sounded amongst the cadets, only quieting down when Minseok came back to hush them. Chanyeol had a feeling that the other cadets knew that he had something going with Baekhyun but he never had the confirmation and this was as good a confirmation as any. Clearing his throat, he continued reading the other three names. “Kang Taeyong, Kim Jaehyun, and Lee Joonsuk.”

While Junmyeon and Minseok went on to recite the names in their respective teams, Chanyeol was already leading his team away and back to the house. He gave the four cadets an hour to wash up and prepare for class before dismissing them, hoping that Baekhyun would linger behind.

“I don’t know why Junmyeon placed you in my team,” Chanyeol confessed to Baekhyun when the other three cadets had gone back to their rooms. Two cadets had to share one room while instructors had their own rooms.

Frowning, Baekhyun studied Chanyeol’s face. “Why shouldn’t I be in your team?”

Faced with such a question, Chanyeol’s tongue was stuck in his throat, unable to find an answer.

“It was random anyway.” Baekhyun shrugged.

“How do you know that?”

“Captain Kim…Captain Junmyeon,” he corrected. “Told me that just now before I left.”

“Oh.” Scratching his head awkwardly, Chanyeol flashed Baekhyun a brief smile. “I’ll see you later then,” he said before walking away.

Forty-five minutes later, Chanyeol was making his way to the classroom when he heard some voices talking about Baekhyun and walked towards where the wall ended.

“Byun’s only in because he’s sleeping with Captain Park, right?”

Freezing at the corner, Chanyeol stayed behind the wall so that he was out of view.

“Most likely. Have you seen the way they looked at each other?” Another voice agreed.

Scowling, Chanyeol realised that he couldn’t put a name to any of their voices because he didn’t recognise their voices yet, so he couldn’t scold the two gossiping. He considered stepping out if just to frighten them.

“Don’t be like that guys. Cadet Byun is very capable and I believe that Captain Park is a fair man. We should all get along and be friends,” the last guy said.

“If by capable, you mean in bed and by fair, you mean by being biased, then I agree.” The first two guys laughed and the last one didn’t say anything anymore.

Anger thrummed through Chanyeol’s veins and he was about to make his presence known when someone grabbed his arm. Turning his head around, his gaze softened when he saw Baekhyun there.

“Don’t,” Baekhyun said softly, looking uneasy. “You’re just going to make things worse if you stand up for me. You’ll prove them right.”

“But nothing is going on!” Chanyeol whispered back harshly.

Baekhyun’s eyes flashed in irritation for a moment. “Is there really nothing going on?”

The voices grew louder before it came to an abrupt stop and Chanyeol found himself awkwardly sandwiched between his four students. Baekhyun’s hand was still warm on his arm and the other three were not-so-subtly looking at it.

As if noticing too late, Baekhyun quickly pulled his hand away like Chanyeol’s skin had burnt him.

“I’ll see you guys in class,” Chanyeol muttered, strained, leaving Baekhyun behind to deal with his classmates. It was cruel to do that but it was also something that Chanyeol knew Baekhyun had to settle by himself. Chanyeol also had faith that Baekhyun could easily win them over. Baekhyun was just charming like that.

Before Chanyeol was out of earshot, he heard a few mumbled apologies and he smiled to himself, happy to note that he, Junmyeon, and Minseok had picked mature enough adults to get along to the best of their abilities without petty arguments and backstabbing. Gossiping seemed unavoidable though, but Chanyeol was okay with that. Everyone needed a little spice in their lives after all. Yet, he still had a nagging feeling in his heart telling him to sort things out with Baekhyun.

> > > > > ✈

“Now, before you get on a plane, you must check every part of it to make sure that it’s safe. What you see here is a Beechcraft Skipper 77.” Patting the side of the light aircraft, Chanyeol explained. “It’s important to do these checks every single time before you fly a plane because every plane is structured differently. So you’ll have to be familiar with the parts and what you need to check and then apply what you know to every plane check after.”

The four cadets were looking around the plane, trying to get a clearer view of the different parts.

“If you have no questions, I’ll teach you guys what to check now. We’ll split into two groups because I have First Officer Kim here with me today.” He gestured to Jongin standing behind them.

“Just call me Jongin,” Jongin said happily, waving to the cadets when they turned their heads.

“Jaehyun and Joonsuk, follow me. Baekhyun and Taeyong, go with Jongin.”

It was almost exactly like doing a plane check whenever Chanyeol was about to pilot any plane. Except he usually flew bigger planes and he didn’t have to explain the logic and reasoning behind checking some parts. But it was good that they had questions. It meant that they were genuinely interested and were thinking, properly internalising whatever Chanyeol was teaching them.

An hour and a half later, Chanyeol was done teaching and testing his group. Seeing that Jongin was still finishing up, Chanyeol told Jaehyun and Joonsuk to take a short break first before telling them that he would take them for a spin later. As expected, the two cadets started beaming, shaking each other excitedly, bringing a smile to Chanyeol’s face, and then they thanked him and ran off for their break.

“Byun Baekhyun,” a voice behind Chanyeol said suddenly, causing the Captain to startle.

Glaring at Jongin, Chanyeol whacked the First Officer on the shoulder, making the latter chuckle. And Chanyeol could finally sympathise with Baekhyun for all the times he had sneaked up on the other. Though he still thought that he wasn’t really sneaking up.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Jongin repeated, sounding smug.

“I’m Park Chanyeol,” Chanyeol corrected in a bored tone. “What do you want? Did Kyungsoo finally dump you so you have to come and bother me.”

“Kyungsoo and I are just fine,” Jongin purred. “Thank you for asking.”

Chanyeol shivered as mental images flashed across his mind, not wanting to think about what Kyungsoo and Jongin were up to last night and Jongin grinned triumphantly at him.

“Byun Baekhyun.”

“Can you stop that?” Chanyeol chided without any anger. “You’re starting to sound like a robot and it’s frankly disturbing. What about Byun Baekhyun?” he asked, giving in to Jongin’s persistence.

“You like him.”

“What?” Chanyeol scoffed, acting like Jongin had proposed a ridiculous notion when in fact, it hit closer to home than Chanyeol would ever admit. “I don’t.”

“You do,” Jongin insisted.

“Stop your nonsense,” Chanyeol demanded and before Jongin could open his mouth again, he called his team back and told Jongin to leave. He felt a little bad for cutting Baekhyun and Taeyong’s break short but he definitely would have felt worst if he had to continue listening to Jongin deduce his feelings and uncover how he truly felt about Baekhyun.

The First Officer said nothing else, shrugging as he patted Chanyeol on the shoulder and started walking away, though not before throwing a knowing smirk at Chanyeol over his shoulder.

Chanyeol watched Jongin walk towards Kyungsoo. The other had been done with his duties with Junmyeon and had been waiting for Jongin at the entrance of the hangar for the past fifteen minutes. As Chanyeol watched Jongin kiss the other on the lips, he couldn’t help but smile when he saw a scowl on Kyungsoo’s face when Jongin pulled away. Although that didn’t stop Kyungsoo from taking Jongin’s hand as they left the hangar completely together. And Chanyeol felt a pang of jealousy, selfishly wanting what they had too.

Turning his attention back to his four students who were now standing in a straight line in front of him, Chanyeol called Taeyong to go with him first, instructing the other three to review what they had learnt about doing the plane check as he would be testing them again the next day.

It was 5:30 PM by the time Chanyeol was done with his third student. He flew them all around for forty-five minutes each, give or take, and in hindsight, he should have only spent thirty minutes up there because his stomach was already growling. He knew that being an instructor would be hard work but he didn’t have much experience like Minseok and Junmyeon had when it came to coaching to know how hungry he would feel.

Climbing out of the plane, Chanyeol told Jaehyun to call Baekhyun over. Baekhyun was the last student Chanyeol had to take up in the plane and he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at how he was the one bringing Baekhyun up to the sky in a light aircraft and not the other way around after all. The guilt ate away his hunger and Chanyeol was at least thankful for that.

When Baekhyun approached, Chanyeol snapped out of his thoughts and gestured for Baekhyun to get into the co-pilot’s seat before climbing back into the pilot’s seat himself. Before he could even tell Baekhyun to wear his helmet and fasten his seatbelt, the other had already done so.

Turning the engine on, Chanyeol waited for the plane to rev to life before he released the brake. Slowly, the light aircraft began to move, its wheels rolling forward on the cement ground. Pulling a handle, Chanyeol brought the aircraft to a slowly climb, eventually lifting it off from the runway and ascending into the sky. After gaining enough height, Chanyeol adjusted the control wheel, levelling the aircraft horizontal to the ground.

“When you’re in the sky, make sure you can read the meters,” Chanyeol started explaining, pointing to the first one in the middle. “There’s the Artificial Horizon Indicator, AHI. On its right, you have the altimeter, ALT. On the left is the speedometer. Below you have the direction.” Pausing, Chanyeol sighed, turning to his right to find Baekhyun looking at him and not the meter. “Stop staring at me. I know you know all these stuff but can you at least pretend to pay attention?”

“Sorry,” Baekhyun muttered, turning to look at the meters which Chanyeol had just pointed out.

The rest of the lesson went by pretty much in the same fashion, with Chanyeol explaining things which Baekhyun already knew in detail, stopping at times to tell Baekhyun to pay attention. Most of the time, Baekhyun stopped listening and zoned out because he was staring at Chanyeol. But Baekhyun also tried his best to pretend that he was learning everything for the first time, though he failed rather miserably at accomplishing that.

Eventually, Chanyeol gave up because Baekhyun could complete his sentences for him, easily explaining the different functions of the aircraft. So Chanyeol started pointing out the different landmarks in London to Baekhyun instead after the younger man had admitted to never having left Asia before. Chanyeol was happy to play the tour guide, having flown to London for work enough times to know the landscape of the place fairly well.

And by the end of his little tour, Chanyeol concluded that it was nicer to see Baekhyun’s face brightening up at a new piece of information about the country he hadn’t known or laughing heartily whenever Chanyeol cracked a joke over seeing Baekhyun failing at pretending to pay attention. But Chanyeol did hope that he would have at least a few things to teach Baekhyun within the span of the PITS Program. Because no matter how good Baekhyun was, he had never been a pilot before so there were bound to be a few things he didn’t know.

The light aircraft descended smoothly onto the runway, its wheels bringing the aircraft back to where it had been stationed as Chanyeol pulled the break. Only when the aircraft came to a complete stop did Chanyeol pull off his helmet, Baekhyun doing the same.

Thinking back to Jongin’s words from earlier, Chanyeol pressed his lips together, contemplating on talking to Baekhyun about where things were going to go from here between them.

“Captain Park?”

Turning to Baekhyun, Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun looked a little nervous and internally scolded himself for zoning out all of a sudden. Baekhyun must have been calling him for some time.

“If there’s nothing else, can I go now?” Baekhyun asked, sounding a tentative. “I’m quite hungry,” he admitted, face flushing slightly with embarrassment.

“Sure,” Chanyeol said, pulling off his seatbelt. “You can go now.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door handle when Chanyeol stopped him.

One hand on the window and the other lightly gripping Baekhyun’s arm, Chanyeol waited for the latter to look at him before he spoke. “In class, I’m your instructor, okay?” Chanyeol said softly, yearning to reach out and touch Baekhyun’s face. “But after class, I can be anything you want me to be.”

Quietly, Baekhyun nodded, opening the door and getting out of the plane.

When Chanyeol got out, he noticed that the sun was setting, casting an orangey glow in the sky. He saw Baekhyun standing still at the place he got off from, staring at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes. Looking around, Chanyeol realised that the other cadets and Jongin were already gone and assumed that Junmyeon had come to dismiss them for dinner because Chanyeol was taking too long with Baekhyun in the sky when he should have been done about half an hour ago. The weather hadn’t been good, London’s torrential rain getting the best of Chanyeol so he had to make a detour. Yet, by the time he had landed, the rain had slowed to a pitter-patter and the clouds had cleared away quickly, the sun emerging from beneath.

Sighing, he walked over to Baekhyun and stood in front of the latter, blocking the sun from shining on his face. Baekhyun looked up at him, seemingly not surprised with Chanyeol’s sudden appearance, he didn’t even blink.

“How was it?” Chanyeol jerked his thumb towards the plane. “Flying again.”

Folding his arms, Baekhyun avoided Chanyeol’s gaze as he nodded. “It was fun. Felt good to be inside the cockpit again. Though it wasn’t how I expected it to be.”

“How did you expect it to be?” Chanyeol chuckled, mirroring Baekhyun’s action so that he wouldn’t give in to the urge to stroke Baekhyun’s hair.

“That I’d be the one behind the control wheel of course,” Baekhyun answered easily, finally meeting Chanyeol’s eyes, a tiny smile playing on his lips.

“Of course.” Chanyeol grinned.

Looking down again, Baekhyun started to drag his foot across the ground. “What did you mean by that?”

Chanyeol gave Baekhyun an inquisitive look, unsure what the latter was referring too.

“When you said that you can be anything I want you to be outside of class…” Baekhyun trailed off at the end, too shy to say the words aloud.

“I meant that I can be anything you want me to be.” Right then and there, Chanyeol had the fantasy of taking Baekhyun’s hands in his own as he looked into his eyes and confessed his undying love. “To you.” Chanyeol didn’t do anything he had done in his fantasy.

“What do you want me to want you to be to me?”

It must have been a real mouthful for Baekhyun to say that but Chanyeol understood it immediately and there was only one thing he could say.

“Can I be your boyfriend?” Chanyeol blurted out.

Throwing his head back, Baekhyun laughed, the sound ringing in the wind, melodic and soothing to Chanyeol’s ears. When Baekhyun stopped laughing, he placed a hand on Chanyeol’s cheek, caressing it tenderly. Wordlessly, he tilted his head up, resting his other hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder to push himself onto tiptoes so that he could seal his lips over Chanyeol’s.

Closing his eyes, Chanyeol kissed back immediately, like it was a natural reaction. Feeling Baekhyun’s lips moving so sinfully over his, nipping and licking, Chanyeol felt a tension leave his body. How long he had been waiting for this. Looping his arms around Baekhyun’s waist, Chanyeol pulled the other closer, bending down so that Baekhyun could properly stand on the ground again as he deepened the kiss.

Tongue licking along the seam of Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol eased his tongue in when Baekhyun slowly parted his mouth. Chanyeol tilted his head slightly to get a better angle as he explored every inch of Baekhyun’s mouth.

Breathless, Chanyeol pulled away, finding Baekhyun’s lips pink and shiny with his saliva.

“Is that a yes?”

Curling a hand behind Chanyeol’s neck, Baekhyun pulled his head down and pressed their foreheads together. “Are we having class now or is this after class?”

Chuckling, Chanyeol leaned down to press their noses together briefly before grinning at Baekhyun. “Shouldn’t you have asked me that question before you kissed me?” Baekhyun’s cheeks were flushed, deliciously so and Chanyeol wanted to do nothing more than to kiss him again. “This is after class,” he replied eventually, seeing that Baekhyun was still waiting for an answer.

“Then yes,” Baekhyun whispered, surging forward and doing what Chanyeol had been wanting to do again after they had parted.

This time, the kiss was softer, more tender, making Chanyeol sigh into Baekhyun’s mouth as he ran his hands down Baekhyun’s back, settling just above the other’s butt. It wasn’t much and this was just the beginning but Chanyeol was content.

> > > > > ✈

If the others spotted Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchanging glances more often or staring at little too much at one another, nobody said anything. They were good at being discrete too so they had to give some credit to themselves.

During class, Chanyeol was just ‘Captain Park’ to Baekhyun like he was to every other cadet, even those not in his team. Baekhyun was respectful and acted like a student would. He did his homework, he paid attention during class, and he had even started to act like he was learning how to fly for the first time. Though the last part was mostly for Chanyeol’s benefit because the Captain complained about feeling stupid in the cockpit whenever he was explaining something to Baekhyun. Then there were those times when Baekhyun didn’t understand something that one could only know with the experience from being a pilot and would ask Chanyeol to repeat it for him.

After class, Chanyeol would take Baekhyun back to the airfield, introducing to him other aircraft models Baekhyun didn’t have to know. Sometimes, Chanyeol would fly them up in the sky and take Baekhyun sightseeing around London. He was also proud that he didn’t give in to Baekhyun whining about wanting to fly because even that was too much for Chanyeol to bend the rules. Thankfully, Baekhyun understood and stopped pestering him about it after the second time. Most of the time, Chanyeol brought Baekhyun around the city for actual sightseeing, taking him to see London Bridge, the Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey during the weekends. When they had a longer break over Christmas, Chanyeol brought Baekhyun to France by train and they spent the holiday there.

Just like that, three months had gone by and Chanyeol had already spent two thirds of it dating Baekhyun. It was also only after a few more dates did Chanyeol discover Baekhyun’s awful habit and impulse whenever it came to drinking. Chanyeol guessed that it must have been a habit which stuck with Baekhyun after drinking so much two years after his hand had recovered.

“You should stop drinking,” Chanyeol said as he watched Baekhyun down another glass of scotch wearily. “Aren’t you flying tomorrow? You have a flight training session with me tomorrow, you know that right? Are you over the alcohol limit yet?”

Laughing, Baekhyun shook his head, clearly only answering the last question, although he looked slightly buzzed and Chanyeol doubted him. “One more glass or a bottle of beer after this is the limit and then I’ll stop.”

“You’re drinking until the limit?” Chanyeol asked, unable to conceal his annoyance.

“It’s a limit for a reason,” Baekhyun said insouciantly, carelessly waving away Chanyeol’s concern. “I’ll be fine. I’m good at this. Besides, my flight is scheduled late in the afternoon, most of the alcohol would have been gone from my system by then.”

“There’s an evaluation for the flight session tomorrow,” Chanyeol pointed out but it wasn’t enough to deter Baekhyun from drinking so he tried a different approach. “You shouldn’t drink until the limit. Even if there’s a limit, you should know better.” When Baekhyun took another sip, Chanyeol tried to keep his calm. “Just stop drinking. You’ve had enough.” He tried taking the glass from Baekhyun’s hand but the younger man turned away so that Chanyeol could not confiscate his drink. “Baekhyun,” Chanyeol warned, still trying to keep his anger at bay. “Give it to me.”

“Why don't you pay the other cadets more attention?” There was a slight slur to Baekhyun’s words but he still had enough sense to talk softly so that he would not draw the attention of the other cadets and the other two Captains. “They have flying sessions tomorrow too. You should give them some tips, Captain Park.”

Lowering his voice, Chanyeol moved closer to Baekhyun. “Because none of them are my boyfriend. You are.” The bar was too crowded for anyone to hear Chanyeol but he just wanted to play safe. “And I’m talking to you as Chanyeol, not Captain Park. I’m worried about you, so stop drinking.”

Smirking lazily at Chanyeol, Baekhyun tipped another glass back into his mouth, grimacing a bit before ordering a bottle of beer.

“Baekhyun, stop,” Chanyeol tried again, attempting to pry Baekhyun’s fingers off the glass bottle’s neck and failing.

“Last one,” Baekhyun said as he looked pleadingly into Chanyeol’s eyes, like he had to have this drink.

But Chanyeol was going to have none of it. He couldn’t understand Baekhyun’s reliance on alcohol but he sure wasn't going to encourage it, especially not the night before Baekhyun was going to fly an aircraft. Pilots could drink the day before they had to fly, given that it was within the timeframe given by the airline company but Chanyeol never ever drank before a flight. It was a personal habit of his, a good one he might add. Minseok was one of the pilots who drank and Chanyeol didn’t judge him for it because Minseok was an extremely capable pilot who just so happened to be able to hold his liquor very well. Besides that, Minseok was also responsible for himself and made sure to cut off his drinking hours before the window for alcohol consumption ended.

“Baekhyun, I said stop!” Chanyeol shouted, grabbing the bottle of beer from Baekhyun’s hand and slamming it down on the table top.

Everyone in the bar turned to look at them and Chanyeol’s face coloured. Whether it was from the anger or the embarrassment, he wasn’t sure. In the next few minutes, Minseok and Junmyeon were ushering the other cadets out, including Baekhyun, and he could vaguely hear them saying things like, “Captain Park is just tired”, “nothing’s wrong, don’t worry”, and “Captain Park will be okay tomorrow”. Once the bar was cleared of the cadets, there were only four people left – the three Captains and the bartender.

“That kid can take care of himself,” Junmyeon tried comforting Chanyeol. “He’s good.”

“I know he’s good.” Hearing Junmyeon compliment Baekhyun, Chanyeol felt proud of him, but it wasn’t enough to simmer his anger.

“He’d never dare to pilot an aircraft drunk,” Minseok’s voice piped in. “You worry too much, Chanyeol.”

“He’s going to screw up his performance tomorrow,” Chanyeol muttered bitterly, shaking his head. “And he wants to have perfect scores.”

Sighing, Junmyeon occupied Baekhyun’s previous seat, placing a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “You’ve probably thought about this before but you can take points off his conduct, you know that right? This counts as his behaviour outside of class.”

Junmyeon wasn’t wrong. Chanyeol had thought about it before but he had never been able to go through with it because Baekhyun had honestly never been that bad to warrant a red mark in his report. Plus, if he was going to grade Baekhyun down for his behaviour, he’d have to do the same his other three students too because they all acted about the same way. Generally though, they were all well-behaved and Chanyeol didn’t want to discourage them.

“Look, Chanyeol,” Minseok started, sitting in the other empty chair at the table. “Junmyeon and I don’t think there’s a problem with his attitude. He can be a little arrogant at times, fine. But he has also proved himself worthy of that arrogance so I can let it slip. He’s diligent and studious, honestly. But he’s also your student.” Chanyeol lifted his head to look at Minseok. “If you want to grade him down, then grade him down. If you don’t, then leave it. Give him a few more warnings and see his performance. At the end of the day, you’re still his instructor for the PITS Program and you have the authority to do anything necessary to discipline him, though I’m sure you don’t have to go that far.”

“What should I do?” Chanyeol asked, looking between his two seniors.

“We can’t tell you what to do, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon laughed. “You have to decide it by yourself.”

“Trust your judgement, kid,” Minseok said and Chanyeol smiled at that. Minseok hadn’t called him ‘kid’ in a long time, mostly because he was a fully grown thirty-years-old adult, but also because he had long matured from the pesky Cadet he had used to be at twenty.

“I will,” Chanyeol said. “Thanks guys.”

> > > > > ✈

Baekhyun didn’t screw up his performance but Chanyeol had a keen eye when it came to mistakes.

“Is there enough space on the runway for you to land?” Chanyeol asked when the aircraft neared the starting point. His hand was itching to give Baekhyun the minimum pass or even fail his landing if it was just to teach him a lesson about drinking.

Staring straight ahead, Baekhyun seemed to be doing some calculations in his mind before he nodded. “Yes.”

“I won’t take off marks if you do a roundabout,” Chanyeol said, giving Baekhyun a chance to change his mind. He wasn’t that cruel. But Baekhyun was determined to land then.

Pulling the throttle partly close, Baekhyun reduced the engine power, bringing the aircraft into a powered descent as he kept pressure on the control wheel to keep the aircraft from nose diving. Then he pitched the nose of the aircraft down, allowing it the descend all the while he was controlling its speed. When the wheels touched the ground, Baekhyun pulled the aircraft back to a levelled position before pulling the break. Eventually, the aircraft stopped just before the marking where he was supposed to land.

“You’re picking on me,” Baekhyun said as he took off his head gear. Obviously, he had peeked at Chanyeol’s checklist.

“You’re not supposed to look,” Chanyeol muttered, tilting the clipboard away as he wrote down some comments. “You should have made a roundabout but I’m not deducting points from that even though you should have thought it through. You stopped before the line so the point is yours.” Scribbling something else down, Chanyeol put the clipboard away. “You made other mistakes.” They were small mistakes that Chanyeol would usually have overlooked but he wasn’t feeling kind that day.

“Fair.”

With a sigh, Chanyeol reached out to brush Baekhyun’s hair aside and Baekhyun turned to look at him curiously. It was inappropriate but Chanyeol wanted Baekhyun to know that he still cared no matter how angry he had been the previous night. “Are you going to listen to me next time?”

“When you’re giving me advice as my boyfriend?” Baekhyun cocked a brow. “Maybe you can ask me again after class.”

Chanyeol’s mouth twitched but he decided not to rise to the bait.

“Am I going to get my comments?” Baekhyun digressed, looking at Chanyeol expectantly, obviously waiting to be praised.

“Your flying wasn’t perfect,” Chanyeol said, denying Baekhyun his wish.

“Did you have any perfect flights today, Captain?” Baekhyun retorted under the guise of a sarcastic question, unimpressed.

Clicking his tongue, Chanyeol picked up the clipboard, deciding to read off the comments despite having them in his head. It was easier to look at the piece of paper than Baekhyun in case he flared up and that was the last thing he wanted to do in case it worsened their increasingly sour relationship.

“Your ascent was too quick, you can work up to building the momentum next time.” There weren’t many negative things written on the paper for Chanyeol to recite so he looked for the ones stored in his brain while he pretended to read from the paper. “The aircraft was a little shaky for a few seconds.”

“But it was windy,” Baekhyun protested.

Chanyeol nodded. “So keep a firmer grip on the control wheel next time. And I said this just now, but you should have done a roundabout at the end. Think carefully next time.”

“But if I had overthought it at that time, I wouldn’t have made the landing before the marking line.”

“Well, this is my advice,” Chanyeol said sternly, putting the clipboard aside again. “Take it or leave it.”

“Do you have anything good to say about my performance at all?” Baekhyun asked through gritted teeth.

“Do you really want to talk to your instructor like that?” Chanyeol countered and he saw Baekhyun pressing his lips together tightly. “You can talk to me like that after the class.”

“Then can I go now?” Baekhyun almost snapped, clearly humiliated.

At Chanyeol’s nod, Baekhyun yanked open the door angrily and jumped off the aircraft.

Biting his lower lip, Chanyeol rolled his eyes, mostly irritated with himself and he banged the side of his window once before hurrying out of the aircraft to catch up with Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun!” he called out, running over to the other. There weren’t anyone else in the airfield then so Chanyeol could safely shout for Baekhyun. “Hey, hey.” He grabbed Baekhyun’s arm to stop the other from stomping away only for his hand to be roughly flung away but Baekhyun did stop walking, though his back faced Chanyeol.

Tentatively placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, Chanyeol was expecting it to be thrown off but it wasn’t. But when he tried to turn Baekhyun around, the other refused to budge.

“Hey,” Chanyeol’s voice softened. “I’m sorry.”

Chanyeol could hear Baekhyun taking in a deep breath and he hoped that Baekhyun wasn’t crying. When Baekhyun finally turned around, Chanyeol could see that Baekhyun’s eyes were red with unshed tears.

“Your flying wasn’t perfect but you were still great. You’re always good.” Touching Baekhyun’s face gently, Chanyeol used his thumb to stroke Baekhyun’s cheekbone. “You know that I’m very proud of you, right?”

Sucking in his bottom lip, Baekhyun looked away, blinking away his tears. He allowed Chanyeol to turn his face back, his eyes now less red and no long longer watery. But when Chanyeol leaned in to kiss him on the lips, Baekhyun turned his head away, avoiding the kiss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Captain Park.”

Baekhyun waited until Chanyeol’s hand fell from his face before he walked away.

That night, Chanyeol may have been a little rougher with Baekhyun than he had intended to but the other didn’t complain.

In hindsight, Chanyeol thought that he could have been gentler, especially when he saw a slight limp in Baekhyun’s step at the airport the next day. Four months were finally over and the teams were all heading back to Korea for the final two months of training.

Excusing himself from walking with Minseok and Junmyeon, Chanyeol sped up to catch up to Baekhyun, clearing his throat to announce his presence. He already had a good lie prepared and as he was about to tell the other three cadets from his team that he needed to speak to Baekhyun about some administrative manner, they were already scurrying away and joining another team in conversation.

“Why are you chasing away my friends?” Baekhyun asked, frowning as he resolutely faced the front.

Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol turned his head slightly to check what Minseok and Junmyeon were doing – engaged in deep conversation. Perfect. Just to be safe, Chanyeol checked where the other cadets were and counted all eleven of them, making sure that they were all walking in front.

“Any time now,” Baekhyun drawled. He almost tripped over air when he felt Chanyeol’s hand coming to the small of his back. “What are you doing,” he hissed as he tried pushing Chanyeol’s hand away. Eyes darting around, Baekhyun only felt slightly relieved when he saw that no one was looking at them.

Their relationship was no secret but neither of them liked mentioning it and they weren’t big on publically showing their affections in front of the others as well, considering that Chanyeol was officially still Baekhyun’s instructor. The others took it well though, making teasing comments at times, but mostly letting them do whatever they wanted to, especially since Chanyeol had proven countless times that he was impartial and Baekhyun had also shown how good he was.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol dropped his voice so that only Baekhyun could hear him.

Baekhyun blushed, turning his face away so that Chanyeol couldn’t see, not knowing that his neck was turning red too. “I’m fine.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“I said I’m fine,” Baekhyun all but snapped impatiently.

Tentatively, Chanyeol removed his hand. “You sure? Do you want to talk about it when we get back to Korea?”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighed. “I’m fine. Last night wasn’t a mistake. I wanted it too so it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing to talk about. We both got caught up in a moment of passion and we both enjoyed it. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol apologised anyway.

“Chanyeol!” Junmyeon called from behind.

“Go,” Baekhyun told Chanyeol when he lingered.

Not caring that Minseok and Junmyeon could see him, Chanyeol curled a hand around Baekhyun’s head, pressing a kiss to the side before letting go and turning around to join the other two Captains.

> > > > > ✈

When Chanyeol had started driving home under the pouring rain, all he had wanted to do was to get into a warm shower and then pass out on his bed. In between training the Cadets from the PITS Program and his own flight schedule, he was drained. Though the company had reduced his flight hours significantly, it had still been tiring flying back and forth to Tokyo or Taipei in a single week. He hadn’t expected seeing his boyfriend standing out in the rain as he was rushing to the lift.

It had been two weeks since Baekhyun moved in with Chanyeol. After they had arrived back in Seoul, Chanyeol had offered to drop Baekhyun off at the latter’s house because he had been curious about where Baekhyun was staying. It was a small neighbourhood with exceedingly high crime rates, that had been Chanyeol’s first thought when he had drove into the district. He had assumed that Baekhyun didn’t have enough money to afford a better place after spending the lot of it on flying lessons and then paying for his medical bills. So doing whatever any normal boyfriend would, Chanyeol had asked Baekhyun to move in with him. He had spent a week convincing Baekhyun to stay with him, the other agreeing eventually mostly because of the fact that Chanyeol’s house was much nearer to the airport where he had to go for training.

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol shouted over the pouring rain. “What are you doing? Why are you out here in the rain without an umbrella?”

“I didn’t expect it to get so heavy!” Baekhyun shouted back as he ran towards the shelter.

Even from afar and the rain blurring Chanyeol’s vision, he could see Baekhyun shivering with his arms wrapped around him. Clicking his tongue, Chanyeol hurriedly walked over to the shelter, keeping the umbrella once he was standing next to Baekhyun.

Placing a hand to Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol frowned. “Gods, you’re freezing.” Quickly, Chanyeol shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it around Baekhyun. “Let’s get you warm.”

Ushering Baekhyun towards the lift, Chanyeol kept his arms around Baekhyun the entire time while they waited. Once they were in, Chanyeol continued hugging Baekhyun, rubbing his arms to keep Baekhyun warm until they reached his floor.

As soon as Chanyeol opened the door, he led Baekhyun in, telling Baekhyun to sit on the couch as he went to the bathroom to run the hot water in the tub. He returned to where Baekhyun was after fetching a glass of warm water from the kitchen.

When the bathtub was sufficiently filled, Chanyeol helped Baekhyun undress, kissing him to distract him from the cold before helping him into the tub where he used a towel to clean Baekhyun. After which, he dried Baekhyun completely and dressed him in one of his sweaters and sweat pants, both clothing articles too big for Baekhyun so Chanyeol had to roll the sleeves and pants up, and then he carried Baekhyun to his bed, tucking him under the blankets and dimming the lights.

“Feeling better?” Chanyeol asked once Baekhyun was snuggled under the covers. He looked warm enough and at least he wasn’t sneezing or shivering uncontrollably anymore. Chanyeol mentally patted himself for a job well done because Baekhyun didn’t look like he was going to fall sick.

“‘m fine…” Baekhyun yawned. “Just a little drowsy.”

“That’d be the medicine taking effect,” Chanyeol chuckled.

“Mm…” Baekhyun hummed sleepily, his eyelids drooping but he still forced himself to stay awake, refusing to sleep just yet.

Watching Baekhyun tenderly, Chanyeol reached out to pat Baekhyun’s hair. Seeing that Baekhyun was still fighting to stay awake, Chanyeol decided to help out by engaging in conversation. “Why were you out in the rain, Baekhyun? Don’t you have a SIMS test tomorrow?” Glancing at Baekhyun, Chanyeol found the latter’s lips pressed tightly together and he sighed, already having a clue about what Baekhyun’s answer was going to be. “What were you doing in such a heavy rain?”

“It wasn’t that heavy when I went out.”

“But why did you go out in the first place?”

“It only started pouring after a while,” Baekhyun said defensively, sniffing.

“You were out for long?” Chanyeol asked, unimpressed.

“I just wanted to feel the rain on my skin?” Baekhyun joked.

“You wanted to – ” Chanyeol groaned. “You’re twenty-five, not fifteen.”

“And you’re thirty, not forty so stop acting like an old man.” Scrunching up his nose cutely, Baekhyun shook his head. “You’re sounding like Captain Kim.”

Chanyeol didn’t need Baekhyun’s clarification to know that he was referring to Junmyeon.

“Don't be mean.”

“Then don’t make fun of me.”

“Fine, fine,” Chanyeol surrendered. Spreading his fingers, Chanyeol combed Baekhyun’s hair, relishing in the soft touch. He was always in awe at how silky the strands could be. As Chanyeol watched Baekhyun shifting under the covers to get more comfortable, he sighed.

“I was studying,” Baekhyun said in a small voice. “I forgot what time your flight was so I wasn’t sure when you were coming back and I was really bored out of my mind from reading the textbook. Then it started raining and I just…I used to play in the rain when I was younger,” he explained. “I wanted to take breather and my mind off all this studying. Being a Cadet is really different from Pilot Academy, isn’t it?” Baekhyun asked, frowning as he looked at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol hummed in agreement as he continued combing through Baekhyun’s hair. “They call it ‘Pilot Academy’ but it’s just a more fancy name for ‘Flying School’ honestly. They don’t teach you the discipline a pilot needs.” Stilling his movement, Chanyeol rested his hand on Baekhyun’s head. “You know, Baekhyun, I was thinking that maybe you could do very well in other fields too.”

While Baekhyun had been actively pushing his head up so that Chanyeol could pat him properly, he froze entirely then, all movement stilling. Even his breathing slowed down and in the silence of the room, Chanyeol felt like he could hear his own heart beating.

“What?”

Licking his lips, Chanyeol resumed stroking Baekhyun’s hair. “Well, you’re organised and you’re determined. You’re also hardworking and diligent. Though sometimes you can be a little…impulsive and brash.” Sighing, Chanyeol removed his hand from Baekhyun’s hair. “What I’m trying to say is…” Chanyeol trailed off, nervously rubbing his hands together. “Maybe you don’t have to become a commercial pilot.”

“What? Why?” Baekhyun sounded hurt, a kicked-puppy expression on his face as he looked at Chanyeol pitifully. “Why are you saying this?”

“Because you don’t know how to take care of yourself,” Chanyeol said, resigned. “You know you have a SIMS test tomorrow but you ran out into the rain instead of preparing for it.”

“I was preparing for it,” Baekhyun argued.

“I know the simulator isn’t here but you could have gone through the steps and memorise what you would have to do when you’re sitting there in the pilot’s seat of the simulator.”

“I had gone through the steps. Multiple times,” Baekhyun said through gritted teeth. “I can probably even recite it in my sleep.”

“Even if you can, and I don’t doubt that you can,” Chanyeol added quickly seeing the fury on Baekhyun’s face. “You shouldn’t have gone out into the rain.”

“It was only for a while.”

“A good pilot wouldn’t even have gone out for a while. A good pilot wouldn’t have risked his health just to get a breather. I wouldn’t have done that.”

“And you’re a good pilot?” Baekhyun bit back harshly but Chanyeol chose not to respond, knowing how unkind his comment would be. “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, a desperate edge in his voice now. “You set through all of my interviews. You read my application. You know how important being a pilot is to me.”

“But I didn’t know your character when all that happened, Baekhyun.”

“And how is my character like?”

“You’re rash. Impatient.” Shaking his head, Chanyeol gestured to the wet towels lying on the floor where he had thrown them after drying Baekhyun’s hair. “Irresponsible.”

“Go on and list all my worst attributes, why don’t you,” Baekhyun sneered.

“It’s not like that, Baek – ”

“You’re such a big flirt, you know?”

Brows knitting together, Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun in confusion. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“I’m saying your attitude sucks too if you’re going to pick on mine.”

“I’m chivalrous, fine,” Chanyeol drawled sarcastically. “But I won’t be irresponsible with my health and jeopardise other people’s lives because I failed to take care of myself.”

“Get out, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said softly but it felt like he had shouted it and Chanyeol almost felt his heart stop beating. “Get out. I want to rest.”

Hand reaching out to touch Baekhyun’s head again, Baekhyun shifted, a clear indication that he didn’t want Chanyeol to touch him. But Chanyeol reached further and placed his palm over Baekhyun’s forehead anyway, noting with relief that Baekhyun wasn’t down with a fever. Bending over Baekhyun’s form, Chanyeol pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Rest well,” he whispered gently.

> > > > > ✈

At the end of the day, Chanyeol found himself standing outside of Minseok’s office.

“Are you just going to loiter there or were you ever going to knock?” Minseok said from behind and Chanyeol jumped.

“I thought you were inside,” Chanyeol stuttered. “And I was about to knock.”

Minseok obviously didn’t believe Chanyeol and he scoffed. Using his arm, he pushed the door handle down because his hands were full before using his leg to kick the door open. Chanyeol took over from there, holding the door open for Minseok.

“He did well, if you were wondering,” Minseok said lightly, already knowing what Chanyeol was doing in his office for.

“He’s sick,” Chanyeol blurted out. Baekhyun hadn’t looked ill that morning but Chanyeol could hear the other sniffing from the passenger’s seat throughout their whole ride to the airport.

Raising a brow, Minseok looked impressed. “Is he? I didn’t even notice.”

“How well is well?”

“I gave him a perfect score,” Minseok admitted. “And you know that I’m not all that lenient.”

“And he deserved it?” Chanyeol asked before he could stop himself. Somehow, he felt like he was betraying Baekhyun by asking such a question.

“Of course,” Minseok said happily. “I think you’re too biased, Chanyeol.”

“I’m not. I’ve always been fair and I treated him equally with the others in my team. I played no favouritism. You know that,” Chanyeol argued stubbornly.

Raising a brow, Minseok laughed. “I didn’t say you were being biased towards Baekhyun. I think you’re too biased against him.”

After leaving Minseok’s office, Chanyeol mulled over Minseok’s words and found that his senior did make sense. Maybe he had been too harsh on Baekhyun after all. Keeping that in mind, he sought Baekhyun out to congratulate him on acing Minseok’s test and the latter all but threw himself onto him the moment he entered the classroom where Baekhyun had been waiting for him after his test had ended.

“I did well!” Baekhyun exclaimed and he looked too much like an over-excited Corgi who was waiting to be patted as he beamed up at Chanyeol.

Laughing, Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun on the lips before unwrapping the younger man’s arms from his neck. Holding one hand, he led them to an empty seat in the front row. “I know. I heard from Minseok. I just came from his office actually.”

Baekhyun pulled his hands away from Chanyeol and narrowed his eyes at the other. “Are you keeping tabs on me?”

It was too late to take back the remark so Chanyeol could only deflect to make the situation better. “I’m just worried about you.”

“You always say that but you just don’t trust me, do you?” Baekhyun accused, hurt flashing in his eyes. “Why? Did you want me to fall sick so that I couldn’t perform well?”

Chanyeol groaned. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He took Baekhyun’s hand again, bringing it up to his lips to kiss it. “I’m always proud of you and I would never wish for you to be sick.”

Baekhyun continued glaring at Chanyeol but the anger left him eventually and he briefly kissed Chanyeol on the lips.

“Let’s go celebrate. I did really well.”

Who could say no to Baekhyun when he was looking like that – eyes bright, diamonds sparkling in them, and his face lit up, an ethereal glow surrounding him from the setting sun shining in through the window.

That Sunday, they went to a suljib at night and Chanyeol spent the whole dinner ordering round after round of soju for Baekhyun until he had lost count. But as he stared at the glasses on the table, he noticed that there weren’t as many as he had thought there were. And he had been the one drinking most of them too since he didn’t have a flight the next day. He made sure not to drink too much though because he still had to drive them back to his place after dinner.

“Slow down. Your final test is tomorrow and Junmyeon is the strictest instructor out of the three of us.”

“No,” Baekhyun said, wagging a finger in front of Chanyeol, looking as unimpressed as someone tipsy could look. His face was extremely red, the colour spreading down to his neck and probably to his chest as well, Chanyeol had seen that before. “You are. You always pick on me.”

Grimacing, Chanyeol guessed that Baekhyun was right. He was exceptionally strict with Baekhyun. Minseok did have a point and it took Chanyeol almost six months to notice that. But he had always been strict for good reasons, he justified to himself. “That’s because I want you to improve.”

“And Captain Junmyeon and Captain Kim don’t?”

“I didn’t say that.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. Drunk Baekhyun sure had a way of putting words into his mouth. “But they have their own students to care about more.”

“Why don’t you care about your other students then?” Baekhyun hiccupped, staring weirdly at the glass in his hand before placing it down, deciding not to drown that glass and Chanyeol was almost relieved until Baekhyun picked it up again and took a little sip.

“I do care about them,” Chanyeol said, laughing. “But isn’t it natural that I care about my boyfriend the most?” He bopped Baekhyun on the nose, making the other go cross-eyed for a moment.

“I thought I was your boyfriend only after class?”

Chanyeol’s eyes softened at that. “Of course not. You’re always my boyfriend.” Caressing Baekhyun’s cheek, Chanyeol pried the shot glass from Baekhyun with his other hand. “Have you been thinking that the whole time?”

“Just sometimes…” Baekhyun admitted truthfully, taking the shot glass back, making Chanyeol sigh. “But don’t worry, I only think that sometimes, very rarely when I feel lousy about myself. And it’s nothing serious either so please don't question me about it.”

Chanyeol nodded. He had bad days too when he felt like the whole world was against him. He could understand.

Watching Baekhyun sipping from his soju glass, Chanyeol resisted the urge to snatch it away and drink it for him. “What time’s your test tomorrow?”

“Eleven in the morning. Why?”

“You do know that you have to stop drinking – ”

“Eight hours before flight? I know.”

“You’re not a pilot yet so let’s keep it to twelve hours, okay? Seoular’s unspoken rule is actually ten hours and there’s still the breathalyzer test.”

Baekhyun laughed. “Then I’ll stop drinking at 1.”

“You should be in bed by then,” Chanyeol scolded. Looking at his watch, Chanyeol sighed when he saw the minute hand move to six. It was already 10:30 PM, half an hour to the twelfth-hour mark. He didn’t remember being such a handful when he had been a Cadet. “You should stop now.”

As always, Baekhyun didn’t listen and he drank until it was 10:58 PM. If it weren’t for the fact that Baekhyun clearly announced that he wasn’t going to drink anymore, Chanyeol would have continued feeling anxious until the clock struck one and saw that Baekhyun wasn’t holding a bottle or a shot glass.

Chanyeol helped Baekhyun to the car after that. The other could surprisingly walk on his own but Chanyeol felt safer with his arms supporting Baekhyun.

Throughout the drive back home, Baekhyun slept soundly in the passenger’s seat but Chanyeol couldn’t help but check on him at every red light or turn to him anxiously while driving to see if he needed to vomit. By the time Chanyeol reached home, Baekhyun was still fast asleep, showing no indication of feeling queasy.

He waited for a while until Baekhyun stirred and gave him a sleepy smile, almost succeeding in making Chanyeol forget why he was feeling so worried about him. As Chanyeol helped Baekhyun out of the car despite the other protesting that he didn’t need any help, the stench of alcohol reminded him why he was displeased with Baekhyun.

“You see, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol began once they stepped over the threshold. “You don’t know when to stop. Your final test is tomorrow and you don’t know when to stop drinking. I get that you enjoy drinking and I get that it’s a habit, sort-of. But you need to learn to control yourself. I can’t always be there to stop you.”

“I stopped before twelve-hour timeframe,” Baekhyun said angrily.

“I already told you before that you shouldn’t cut off just at the limit when it came to drinking and the same rule applies to the timeframe.”

Shoving Chanyeol away furiously, Baekhyun glared at him. “You do realise that I drink when you’re not around, right? And when have I ever gotten so drunk that I couldn’t fly a plane?” Baekhyun knew that he had a point because Chanyeol kept quiet. “And I drink more around you because I know that you’ll stop me. I trust that you’ll stop me.”

Chanyeol continued remaining silent.

“And maybe,” Baekhyun said softly, ruffling his hair in frustration. “I like drinking around you because I’m always hoping that you’ll finally act like my boyfriend and not like my instructor for once.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth to argue that he had always been acting like Baekhyun’s boyfriend ever since they had started dating but no words came out. Because it wasn’t true.

“I’m not a Cadet who’s fresh out of the military or any flying school, Chanyeol. That was me four years ago. You can’t treat me like how you were treated as a Cadet because our situations are different.”

“But the discipline a Cadet needs stays the same,” Chanyeol thought but he chose not to say it, wanting to hear what Baekhyun had to say first. He could understand where the other was coming from though and maybe Chanyeol was guilty of treating Baekhyun like a typical Cadet most of the time.

“I’m going to bed,” Baekhyun announced, walking towards the bathroom in a surprisingly straight line and Chanyeol couldn’t help but think if Baekhyun had been faking his tipsiness earlier on or if he hadn’t even drunk that much that he was sober now.

Either ways, he still thought that Baekhyun lacked the discipline a commercial pilot needed.

When he joined Baekhyun in bed an hour later, he realised that the other was still awake. He wanted to tell Baekhyun to sleep because of the final test tomorrow but he also felt the need to bring up a topic that he felt was important.

“Baekhyun, have you ever thought about being something else other than a commercial pilot?”

“I’ve never given it much thought, why?” Suddenly, Baekhyun’s eyes widened in realisation. “You want to talk me out of being a pilot again, don’t you?”

“Not exactly,” Chanyeol said. “I’m saying you don’t have to be a commercial pilot. You could be a freelance pilot or a flight instructor. From what I’ve gathered, you love flying, obviously, and this way, you can still fly but you don’t need the…”

“Discipline a commercial pilot needs?”

Saying nothing, Chanyeol nodded. “So, maybe...you don’t have to turn up for the final test tomorrow. You can go down to the company another day to explain your absence. Of course they’ll terminate you from the PITS program if it isn’t a valid reason but they’d most likely offer you a job as a flight instructor.”

“I…wha…?” Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, confused and the Captain sighed.

“Do you remember your second interview? When you wanted to say that ‘skill’ was the most important thing a pilot should have? You said a ‘sense of safety’ during the actual interview, of course but it was only because I told you to say that, right? There wasn’t an answer sheet, Baekhyun. You could have said ‘skill’ if you wanted to. I know you didn’t mean it when you said ‘a sense of safety’ anyway but you fooled both the Captain Kims well enough.”

“But that was eight months ago, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said bitterly. “I understand the importance of safety now. I always did and I’ve always prioritised it. It just wasn’t on the top of my list. But now it is, You made sure to drill that into me.”

“And I’m glad that you learnt,” Chanyeol said sincerely, hoping that Baekhyun wouldn’t take his words the wrong way. “But you’re still rash and you don’t think through things before you act and I love you for all of that, really. But maybe you’re just not suitable to become a pilot.”

Baekhyun stayed quiet for a long time and Chanyeol was worried that the other was going to break up with him then and there or would lash out at him suddenly and they would get into another heated argument. Or, he had just simply fallen asleep. Chanyeol hoped for the last possibility.

Finally, Baekhyun spoke, and it wasn’t to break up with him nor was it to lash out at him. “Are you telling me not to go as Captain Park or Park Chanyeol? As my instructor or my boyfriend?”

“Your boyfriend,” Chanyeol answered easily. “I’m telling you as Chanyeol.”

Nodding, Baekhyun licked his lips. “I’ll sleep on it.”

“But Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said before the other closed his eyes. “I’ll support whatever decision you make eventually.”

> > > > > ✈

When Chanyeol had left the house early in the next morning, Baekhyun had still been asleep. He had wanted to wake the other up so that he had more time to prepare for his test with Junmyeon but Baekhyun had looked so tired that Chanyeol had decided not to disturb his rest. Quietly, he had left the house after making breakfast for Baekhyun and writing him a note to eat and to tell him ‘good luck’ for his final test.

Despite Chanyeol asking Baekhyun to give up on being a pilot, he would respect Baekhyun’s final choice no matter what and he knew that he would support the other’s decision no matter what too. After all, people knew themselves the best and it wasn’t up for anyone, parent or love or friend, to make any big decisions for them.

After feeling restless for the entire morning, Chanyeol made his way to Junmyeon’s office during lunch time, not hesitating to knock on the door.

“Did Baekhyun turn up for the test?” Chanyeol asked Junmyeon tentatively.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon said casually, not looking up from where he was writing down comments for the examinees. “What kind of a question is that?” he laughed. “Was Baekhyun not going to turn up? I highly doubt that despite the stunt he pulled today.” Placing his pen down, Junmyeon looked at Chanyeol with a pleasant smile on his face. “I gave him a bad score for that.”

Puzzled, Chanyeol stared at Junmyeon blankly. “What stunt?”

Junmyeon intertwined his fingers in front of him. “He turned up fifteen minutes before his time slot and told me that he couldn’t fly because he had drunk until 10:58 PM the previous night. I told him that it was fine because that was within the twelve-hour window frame and Seoular Air actually has a ten-hour window frame. I assumed he have known because I guessed that you would have told him but I guess not?”

“I did,” Chanyeol affirmed and Junmyeon nodded.

“Well, I told him that even though there was this window frame, I encouraged him to try not to drink the day before he had to fly since he still didn’t have much experience, so I deducted points from him for that. Then he told me that he was too drunk to fly,” Junmyeon chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that he was avoiding to take the test. He looked really scared after he had admitted it to me though and it made me a little suspicious.”

Chanyeol paled. “He…what?” Why would Baekhyun do that? Going over the alcohol limit was an extremely serious offense that resulted in immediate failure. Not only that, but Baekhyun wouldn’t have been able to graduate.

Nodding gravely, Junmyeon’s brows knitted together. “Honestly, he looked fine to me. And I wouldn’t even have noticed that he had been drinking the previous night if he hadn’t mentioned.” Seeing Chanyeol looking so worried, Junmyeon chuckled and patted the younger Captain on the shoulder. “He passed the breathalyzer test, don’t worry or I wouldn’t have just given him a bad mark. He was quite surprised at the results. Said he expected it to be higher then I explained to him that the alcohol must have been flushed away already. Or maybe,” Junmyeon looked pointedly at Chanyeol. “He just didn’t drink that much and you should cut him some slack.”

Scratching his head, Chanyeol smiled sheepishly. Getting told by Minseok that he was being too strict with Baekhyun was acceptable because Minseok always spoke his mind. But getting it from Junmyeon as well meant something because Junmyeon usually kept his comments, nasty or nice, to himself. “So how did it go?”

“I let him fly, of course. He isn’t impaired. And he was brilliant but I had to give him a low score anyway for drinking so much so close to the twelfth-hour mark. The breathalyzer score wasn’t high but it wasn’t particularly low either,” Junmyeon reasoned. “But then I gave him some bonus points for being truthful with me, even if it meant risking his entire career. The kid has a good heart. He may be reckless at times but he means well.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol said sincerely, eagerly wanting to run back home to apologise to Baekhyun for being so stern and overbearing all the time and to congratulate him on passing the final test.

He just wanted to let Baekhyun know how proud he truly was. He knew how strict he had been with Baekhyun but hearing both Minseok and Junmyeon compliment him made Chanyeol realise how unfair he had been this whole time. And he wasn’t sure how he could ever make it up to Baekhyun but he was certain that nothing could ruin Baekhyun’s day that day.

It was the day that Baekhyun officially finished his training to become a pilot and Chanyeol found himself grinning widely like an idiot. He didn’t care that Junmyeon was laughing at him and teasing him, because he was just so damn proud of Baekhyun and he really had to rush back to tell Baekhyun all of it.

Before Chanyeol left Junmyeon’s office, the older Captain called him back.

“Baekhyun will do fine as a pilot. You worry too much,” Junmyeon told him with an assuring smile. “And Chanyeol.” Junmyeon stopped him from leaving again, chuckling when he saw how anxious Chanyeol was to get home. “He’s good for you. You’ve always been a natural at flying and you’ve always been well-liked among your peers but you never had a goal in life, did you? You never had anything to fight for.”

Eyes flickering up to meet Junmyeon’s, Chanyeol waited patiently for Junmyeon to continue, the initial adrenaline of wanting to rush home fading.

“Until Baekhyun. He lit something in your heart, didn’t he?”

Smiling, Chanyeol had only one thing to say – “he did”.

> > > > > ✈

“Hey,” Chanyeol greeted when he saw Baekhyun watching television in the living room.

Leaning his head back, Baekhyun watched Chanyeol from an upside-down angle. “Hi.”

“I heard what you did today.” Chanyeol started to unbutton the top two buttons on his shirt. “There goes your perfect score.”

“It was already gone,” Baekhyun scoffed and then turned off the television before walking over to Chanyeol and standing on his tiptoes to kiss the older man. “You made sure of that.”

Cocking a brow, Chanyeol grinned at Baekhyun. “Did I?”

“Don’t play coy with me,” Baekhyun said, patting Chanyeol’s chest with a laugh. “I don’t care about the perfect score anyway. I haven’t cared about it a while.”

“Really?” Chanyeol was genuinely surprised. He knew how ambitious Baekhyun was. “And was this before or after I didn’t give you full marks for one of your evaluations?”

“After,” Baekhyun mumbled and Chanyeol chuckled. “But aren’t you proud of me?”

“For not scolding me? Hell yeah,” Chanyeol joked and Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at him. Laughing he tilted Baekhyun’s chin up. “I’m always proud of you.” Then he kissed Baekhyun’s lips before letting go of his chin.

“Anything else?” Baekhyun poked Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Or do you want to scold me for something?”

“Hey.” Chanyeol caught Baekhyun’s hand. “I know we had our differences, Baekhyun. But I’m really proud of you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Baekhyun said quietly, allowing Chanyeol to pull him against his chest. “That makes the two of us,” he laughed. Wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s stomach, Baekhyun leaned against the older man. “But you sure have a poor way of showing it sometimes.”

“I know that too,” Chanyeol pointed out, laughing. “And I’m sorry for that,” Chanyeol said in his best pitiful voice, hoping that Baekhyun would take sympathy on him and let him off the hook for now. Of course, Chanyeol would continue to try making it up to Baekhyun. He had been cruel, rightfully so at times but not all the time. “I’ve been unfair to you.”

“I’m glad you know,” Baekhyun grumbled, but there wasn’t any menace in his tone. “But you’re not all that bad either.”

Pulling back, Chanyeol made a face at Baekhyun. “I asked you to give up your lifelong dream and told you not to become a pilot and I’m not that bad? I’m a horrible boyfriend, Baekhyun. You can just say it and I’ll own up to it.”

“You had my interests at heart,” Baekhyun said, shrugging. “Besides, what you suggested made sense too and I did consider it. Being a flight instructor isn’t so bad, I mean. Also, technically, becoming a pilot isn’t my lifelong dream. I only wanted to become a pilot when I was five.”

“And what were your aspirations before that?” Chanyeol laughed, incredulous that Baekhyun had an idea about what he had wanted to do in the future when he had been three. But then again, he wasn’t entirely surprised either. Baekhyun’s ambition could probably fill the Han river and then overflow.

“When I was four, I wanted to be an actor because my mom was always watching those dramas on television and I thought that it’d be nice if my mom could see me all the time. Even when I was away, she could see me on television. And she could buy the DVD boxes too so she could literally always see me.”

“That’s cute,” Chanyeol teased and Baekhyun rolled his eyes, ignoring him.

“When I was three, I wanted to become a lawyer or a doctor, those were the fabulous ones,” Baekhyun explained. “But I also wanted to be a wise old man or a con artist because my mom was always watching those dramas on television and back then, I still didn’t know they were just acting. I thought they were real.”

“You are adorable,” Chanyeol laughed. “You can’t have wanted to be anything when you were one or two, right?”

Shrugging, Baekhyun grinned, surprising Chanyeol that he had an answer. “When I was one and two, I wanted to be a baby forever.”

“Liar!” Chanyeol whacked Baekhyun’s shoulder. “You don’t even remember any of that!”

“Think about it logically,” Baekhyun insisted. “Don’t all babies want to stay babies for life?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Chanyeol laughed. “Why don’t we ask a baby.”

“Sure, if you can find one who would answer you willingly,” Baekhyun said with a casual shrug.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol whispered seriously all of a sudden, the mood changing completely. “Happy graduation.” Leaning down, he kissed Baekhyun tenderly. “And congratulations on graduating at the top,” he mouthed along Baekhyun’s lips, licking the bottom lip and sending an involuntary shiver down Baekhyun’s spine.

Pulling away, Baekhyun raised a brow. “Are you supposed to tell me that?”

“It’s not a secret,” Chanyeol laughed. “You’d have found out tomorrow anyway. I’m just delivering the good news early.”

“And ruining the surprise!” Baekhyun scolded, pushing Chanyeol away and walking towards the bedroom.

Chuckling, Chanyeol followed Baekhyun into the room, grabbing the other by the waist and pulling him back so that he could press a kiss to Baekhyun’s neck. “There’s no surprise in that.”

“I’m pretty sure I have at least three really bad scores,” Baekhyun pointed out, confused.

“Yeah, and you had the lowest score on one test,” Chanyeol admitted and Baekhyun groaned. “But you also topped more tests than I can remember despite being the one doing the statistics on the excel sheet.”

Baekhyun turned around, eyes sparkling. “You weren’t supposed to tell me about the excel sheet, right?”

Shrugging, Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun briefly, pulling away with a smack. “It’s not a secret.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun laughed, knowing that he would always lose when it came to this matter. Looping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, Baekhyun smiled up at him sweetly. “What’s my congratulatory present?”

Smirking, Chanyeol tilted Baekhyun’s face upwards, finding the other’s eyes shining brightly with mischief. Chanyeol moved forward to kiss him, pushing him back until the back of Baekhyun’s knee hit the edge of his bed and they both fell onto it.

Pushing Baekhyun’s hair out of his face, Chanyeol smiled down at Baekhyun. “Hey.”

“You know that I love you, right?” Baekhyun said breathlessly, moving to lean on his elbows so that he could kiss Chanyeol.

“I love you too,” Chanyeol said into the kiss. “You made me believe that some things were worth fighting for,” Chanyeol continued saying in between kisses.

Laughing, Baekhyun pulled back. “What?”

“Nothing.” Chanyeol grinned, pushing Baekhyun back down onto the bed and smothering him with kisses.

They could have that conversation another day.

> > > > > ✈

“Relax,” Baekhyun laughed, trying to calm Chanyeol’s nerves. “It’s my first flight. I’m not going into an operation room and get operated on or anything,” Baekhyun joked, waving his long fully recovered right hand in front of Chanyeol.

“Don’t say that!” Chanyeol chided, running his hand through his hair frantically. “Okay, so some Captains and F.O.s, especially F.O.s, are assholes and they’ll try to trick you because you’re only an S.O. and nobody likes S.O.s because well, you’re new and inexperienced and those F.O.s think they’re really great and all but they’re really not all that. Most of them have been stuck at that rank for years because they kept on failing the Captain’s test. Maybe that’s why they’re always so angry and bitter and that’s why they like picking on S.O.s like you even though you are way more capable than them. So, Baekhyun, remember that – mmph,” Chanyeol moaned, his ranting cut off by Baekhyun abruptly kissing him the same time the latter took Chanyeol’s pilot hat off his head to cover their faces from the side.

Hand coming up to cup Baekhyun’s face, Chanyeol leaned forward slightly so that Baekhyun didn’t have to stand on his toes anymore.

“What was that for?” Chanyeol asked, breathless when Baekhyun broke away, uncaring about the nosy stares they were getting from the other airline crew members in the room. His hat was blocking their faces for the others to see anyway.

Smiling cheekily, Baekhyun tiptoed to pat Chanyeol’s hair into place before beckoning Chanyeol to bend down so that he could place his Captain’s hat back onto his head and adjust it neatly. “To shut you up.” Baekhyun grinned when Chanyeol spluttered. “I didn’t become a Second Officer to hear you badmouth other pilots or to tell me to ‘be careful’, especially the latter because I remember quite clearly that I’ve never listened to any of your warnings before.”

“And you’re still a pilot, ha ha,” Chanyeol laughed drily.

“And I’m still a pilot,” Baekhyun agreed, nodding happily. “I became a pilot because I trained for it under the PITS program.”

“I trained you.”

“Yeah, but you certainly weren’t badmouthing other pilots back then.” Tightening Chanyeol’s tie, Baekhyun smiled at him. “I didn’t know you had such a mean streak in you.”

“Very funny,” Chanyeol said drily.

“I'll be fine.” Patting Chanyeol’s face, Baekhyun laughed when Chanyeol scowled at being coddled. “Just be happy for me, okay? And stop worrying. I’ve been waiting for this day for five years and I’ve been preparing it for the past six months under the best training program and under the best instructor anyone could ever ask for.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Baekhyun raised a brow before patted Chanyeol’s face one more time and then he dropped his hand. “Good thing that you’re not my Captain today then.”

Chanyeol furrowed his brows at that comment, unsure about what Baekhyun might be implying or if he was just overthinking. His bets were on the latter. “Who’s your Captain for today?”

“You can check the roster later,” Baekhyun kindly informed him, smiling playfully.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, grumbling a little before resting his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulder and bending forward to look him in the eye. “Remember to do the ‘Before Take-off Checklist’ properly. Read every line very carefully, Baekhyun. The F.O. might trick you because – ”

“They’re assholes,” Baekhyun finished for Chanyeol, smiling as he adjusted Chanyeol’s black tie again. “I know. You said that already.” Brushing Chanyeol’s hands off his shoulders, Baekhyun adjusted his uniform. “But I already told you that the pilot is a Captain. There isn’t an F.O. on this flight.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol unwillingly conceded. Taking Baekhyun’s right hand, Chanyeol patted it lovingly. “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too,” Baekhyun replied, smiling widely, his mouth becoming that rectangular shape that Chanyeol had already noticed during their first meeting.

Five years seemed like eons again and Chanyeol already couldn’t remember how his life had been before Baekhyun had come into it, filling the dull sky in his life with colours of the rainbow and making rainy days bearable.

Kissing Chanyeol one last time, Baekhyun patted Chanyeol’s chest. “I love you.”

As Baekhyun started to leave to board the plane, Chanyeol called his name.

“Good luck for your first flight, Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said, a large grin settling on his face.

Turning around, Baekhyun smiled sweetly at Chanyeol. “Thank you.” As he was about to walk away, he stopped himself and faced Chanyeol again. “See you around.”

“And why would you see me around,” Chanyeol played along, folding his arms across his chest. Baekhyun still had time to humour him anyway.

Raising a brow, Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, thinking thoughtfully for a moment. “Because I’m a pilot,” he settled for saying. “And you fly a lot, right?”

Unable to stop the grin from appearing on his face, Chanyeol nodded as he slid his tongue between his teeth. “See you around then.”

Laughing, Baekhyun spun around and walked towards the Boeing 757 plane that he was scheduled to fly that day.

As Chanyeol watched Baekhyun leave, he couldn’t help but smile widely, gum and teeth and all, wishing Baekhyun the best in his heart. Now he’d have to wait for Baekhyun to land and tell him all about his first experience of properly flying a commercial airplane. It was only a short flight to Tokyo.

Fond memories of their first meeting appear, unbidden, in Chanyeol’s mind and he smiled fondly at the image of a twenty-one-year-old Baekhyun doing advanced counting aloud in the airplane.

Standing at the full-length glass window, Chanyeol watched until Baekhyun’s plane took off before he started to walk back to his office, all the way wondering – how was he so in love?

Brash and impatient; proud and opinionated, Byun Baekhyun was everything that Chanyeol loved and maybe everything a pilot shouldn’t be. But he was also thoughtful and mature; patient and reasonable, and he was still everything that Chanyeol loved and maybe everything a pilot should be.