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Chanyeol was standing in front of his locker, slipping on his jacket and cap, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find himself presented with the face of his shift manager, Chief Kim. “You’ve been switched to passport control today,” the somewhat gruff, middle aged security chief said, waiting for Chanyeol’s response.
“Understood,” Chanyeol replied, turning to place his cap back into his locker and reaching for his name badge instead. Passport control was an easier job than walking around the floors of the airport anyways, though it did involve talking to a lot more people. Chanyeol didn’t really mind that, though sometimes waiting for people struggling to find their ticket or passport after they’d had plenty of time to get them together in line before they reached him was annoying. Besides, a complaint was likely to get him reassigned to checking bathrooms and that was the last thing he wanted to be doing.
Chief Kim gave an affirmative nod before walking off, no doubt to deliver another reassignment message. Chanyeol watched him go for a few seconds before turning to finish adjusting his nametag and then closing his locker. He then wandered down the line of lockers to bump shoulders with his shift mate, Sehun. They’d started working at the airport at the same time two years ago and had quickly developed a friendship over pints and complaints about the troubles of being airport security, from the unruly passengers to the stringent rules of upper management.
“Know why we’re shuffling assignments today?” He asked. If anyone would be the first to be up to date on the latest gossip, it was Sehun. Sometimes Chanyeol would swear he had mics placed around the airport.
Sure enough, Sehun nodded as he gave a wry smile. “Yup, you’ll be happy.”
“Why?” Chanyeol asked, instantly suspicious.
Sehun smirked wider as he leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Because, it’s your favorite group,” he teased, pulling back as Chanyeol’s cheeks flushed, a satisfied grin on his face.
“Shut up,” he whined, reaching out to lightly punch Sehun’s shoulder.
Sehun shrugged as he worked to adjust his coat. “You’re the one who turned redder than a tomato when you had to check their bags last time.”
Chanyeol felt his cheeks redden further. He had indeed felt embarrassed as he’d dug through the bags of Byun Baekhyun, searching for the item that the x-ray operator had been unable to ID and therefore requested Chanyeol do a manual search to discover.
Why? Because Byun Baekhyun wasn’t just some random passenger who Chanyeol would forget in a few days. No, Byun Baekhyun was one of the main vocalists of CBX, one of the most popular groups in the world at the moment, and more importantly, Chanyeol’s idol crush since their debut four years ago. The last thing Chanyeol wanted to do was invade his privacy by digging through his bag for something that, on the x-ray, kinda looked like a cartoon bomb. He was pretty sure whatever was making that shape, it wasn’t going to be that.
As such, Chanyeol did his best to work quickly, trying to not put the contents of the idol’s suitcase on full display as he searched for the object. Baekhyun, for his part, was quiet, patiently waiting as the cacophony of fans watching the other members go through security echoed around them.
Finally Chanyeol found the object, an ornamental tin ball that appeared to open along a seam into two perfect halves. Chanyeol looked up at Baekhyun, holding the object low, but clearly in his view. “What is this?”
Baekhyun looked down before his eyes widened. His eyes went to his manager who was in the process of getting additional screening by Sehun, his belt buckle having triggered the extra procedure. Having seemingly determined the threat was far away, Baekhyun leaned forward across the security table, voice low. “It’s full of chocolate. I hid it in there so my manager wouldn’t find it. I’m supposed to be dieting right now,” he explained softly.
Baekhyun pulled back, eyes crinkling above his mask as Chanyeol tried to force his heart to stop racing at how close Baekhyun had leaned towards him across the table on which his bag was placed, distracting himself by instead focusing on procedures. “I’ll have to open it to check.” Chanyeol said, to which Baekhyun nodded.
“If you could just do it quickly,” He asked, eyes on his manager, who was now collecting his things, his additional security inspection apparently cleared.
Chanyeol nodded, quickly cracking open the ball to take in the contents. Sure enough, it was full of miniature chocolate bars. He snapped the ball back closed and immediately covered it with one of the shirts he had displaced as he had searched for it. If Baekhyun wanted to eat chocolate, Chanyeol was going to do everything in his power to make sure it happened, whether his managers liked it or not.
“You’re good to go,” He said, trying to play it cool even though he knew he probably looked anything but. He could still feel the heat of his cheeks on his face.
Thankfully, if he noticed, Baekhyun didn’t say anything. Instead, he just continued to smile behind his facemask as he moved forward to repack his bag. “Thank you for your service,” he said happily as he went, causing Chanyeol’s cheeks to flush again.
He quickly turned away to focus on the next bag he was supposed to check, mentally cursing as he caught sight of Sehun staring at him, a smug look on his face.
Chanyeol knew then he was never going to hear the end of it. And sure enough, here he was several weeks later, still defending his reaction.
“It felt invasive,” he protested, trying to defend himself even while knowing it was a lost cause.
Sehun snorted. “It’s your job.”
Chanyeol sighed. He couldn’t really argue with that. Still it was hard when his interests collided. As a fan, he would never want to dig through Baekhyun’s bags. As airport security though, he sometimes had no choice. At least today he’d be safe from that. Checking passports didn’t involve opening any bags. Just lots of people fumbling with their plane tickets.
What harm could that do?
---
Baekhyun allowed himself to be shuffled along slowly through the throng of fans that had started at the drop off point outside the airport doors and extended into the lobby towards security. After four years, the rush wasn’t anything new, though it was still far from enjoyable.
He was last in the line today, Jongdae and Minseok shuffling along in front of him.
Finally, they reached the security checkpoint and got in line. Baekhyun almost let out a sigh of relief. Now, between the ropes that led to the passport checkpoint, the crowd thinned, unable to follow in with them as security blocked the way. Behind him, Yixing let out a sigh as well. “Is it me, or is today worse than usual?” the choreographer and producer asked.
“Definitely worse,” Baekhyun replied as he took a single step forward, keeping his voice low. “Probably because they want to catch our new hair colors with the comeback nearing.”
Yixing let out a quiet laugh. “They should know by now how good you guys are at hiding that.”
Beakhyun chuckled in agreement. “Indeed, but they know we’ll have to take off our hats at some point going through this.”
“True,” Yixing agreed, eyes flicking to where Jongdae had indeed done just that, revealing for the first time a shock of blonde hair that had the fans behind them chattering instantly. Jongdae had never had blonde hair before.
Baekhyun also followed Yixing’s gaze, chuckling softly at the uproar before starting to search for his ticket. He was certain he’d shoved it in his pocket earlier, but he couldn’t find it now, and he didn’t fancy a return to the ticket counter to get a new one. One walk through the throng of airport fans was enough for the day.
He was still searching as he stepped up to the security podium, heart rate starting to accelerate as he realized that he really didn’t know where his ticket was. “I’m sorry. I just-” Baekhyun started to rapidly re-check his pockets, starting to feel a bit frantic. Where was it?
Suddenly, a deep voice pulled him from his frenzied search.
“Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun jolted as he heard his name leave the security guard’s lips, gaze snapping to the man seated on a tall chair in front of him.
“How did you — ”
“There,” The guard said, face flushed as he cut Baekhyun off, pointing at the bag hanging off his arm.
Baekhyun followed the direction of his finger and flushed, quickly seeing what the guard had also seen, the edge of Baekhyun’s plane ticket sticking out of his bag. He flushed and grabbed it quickly before handing it over the guard along with his passport. “Sorry about that,” he said softly.
The guard quickly looked away as he focused on scanning Baekhyun’s passport, cheeks also still tinged a bit pink. “Don’t worry about it. You have plenty to be distracted by,” he replied softly, finishing his review and snapping the passport closed before holding it out for Baekhyun to take back.
“Have a safe trip,” he murmured, eyes holding Baekhyun’s for a second before flicking away.
Baekhyun studied the guard’s face for a moment more before taking his passport as he offered a “thank you” in response, feeling a bit puzzled by the guards still pink cheeks and hesitance until, as the guard pulled back his hand he caught the flash of a tattoo on the guard’s wrist, and then, it all made sense.
Baekhyun found himself smiling as he put his passport away. He recognized that design. It was in the shape of a sunburst. Baekhyun’s individual logo since debut.
Baekhyun took a second to note the name displayed on the security guard’s name badge as he turned away, Chanyeol Park. He’d remember that name. It wasn’t every day you found out an airport security guard was your fan.
---
After their encounter at passport control, Chanyeol swore to himself he’d never interact with Baekhyun again. The hours of teasing he endured afterwards from Sehun was not worth it. It was better to admire his idol from afar.
Therefore, Chanyeol could not begin to understand how he had ended up in his current position, pressed up against Baekhyun’s back as they slowly waded through a throng of fans and reporters.
Suddenly, Baekhyun jerked to a stop, causing Chanyeol to bump into him. “Sorry,” he murmured, feeling slightly embarrassed before quickly shaking off any other thoughts. His main priority now was getting CBX through this crowd. He could die over running into Baekhyun later.
Baekhyun subtly shook his head in response. “Not your fault,” he murmured, waiting for the guards up front to clear the way. Chanyeol braced himself carefully to try to make sure he didn’t bump into Baekhyun again as they waited. A few pushes made their way to his back as the guards around him tried to better establish a perimeter in which Baekhyun, Jongdae and Minseok could walk, but thankfully, this time he managed to not bump Baekhyun again.
“We should have brought more people,” Chanyeol replied softly, watching as Baekhyun’s shoulders relaxed slightly as they finally could see the exit and had a little more room to breathe. Still, Baekhyun shook his head.
“We shouldn’t have let the news go out like this,” he whispered back, surprising Chanyeol with his honesty. “It’s inconveniencing everyone. You must be disappointed too, being my fan and all.”
Chanyeol almost tripped when he heard Baekhyun’s words. How did he even know?
Chaneyol shook his head. That wasn’t important. What was important was that Beaekhyun had it wrong. All wrong.
Chanyeol wished he could stop Baekhyun in his tracks to tell him how wrong he was, but he couldn’t, they were at the car. Baekhyun was going to leave, and Chanyeol would lose his chance.
On a sudden impulse as they paused briefly while Jongdae and Minseok climbed into the car, Chanyeol reached for Baekhyun’s hand.
Baekhyun looked up at him in surprise, almost causing Chanyeol to falter, but he resisted. This was more important.
“I hope you and Seulgi are happy. Truly,” he said, watching as Baekhyun’s eyes widened almost comically before he was being pulled into the car by his manager, unable to get out a response before the door was being pushed closed, disappearing from Chanyeol’s view.
It’d be two months before they saw each other again.
---
Even knowing what was coming, Channyeol’s heart still ached when he saw Baekhyun swinging on a pair of crutches as he appeared from the gangway. He’d been abroad when the news of his and Seulgi’s break up had hit newsstands, and as if that wasn’t enough, he’d managed to twist his ankle on location for a variety show shooting set to air that spring.
The combination had proved toxic, leading to speculations he’d hurt himself because he’d been driven to distraction, and selfishly placed a burden on his other castmates by being unable to finish the filming on location as planned.
As Chanyeol watched him hobble over to where he sat waiting on a cart to drive him through the terminal, he knew the truth. Baekhyun was anything but selfish. Really, how could anyone call him selfish when the first thing out of Baekhyun’s mouth as he sat down beside Chanyeol in the cart was a soft, “Sorry to trouble you again.”
Chanyeol shook his head as he revved the engine of the cart and started to slowly drive down the hallway. “It’s my job,” he replied, thankful that at least on this side of the terminal before they got to baggage, fan traffic was light, making the journey easy. It seemed like Baekyhun needed it. Under his eyes, heavy bags were starkly visible, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but notice that the small twinkle Baekhyun usually held in his eyes was missing.
Still Baekhyun let out a weak laugh in response to Chanyeol’s words, “Of course. That’s the only reason any of you still help me, isn’t it?” he said, tone forcedly light.
Chanyeol stiffened. That definitely hadn’t been his meaning. He wanted to protest, but before he could, Baekhyun spoke again. “It’s fine. Just let me rest. I’m tired, and I need to save my strength for when they try to tear me apart,” he murmured before his head bumped up against Chanyeol’s shoulder.
Carefully, Chanyol spared a glance down at Baekhyun as he slowly drove the cart down the hall. He really did look worse for wear, and as Chanyeol got another update from over his radio about the situation in the arrivals terminal, he made a decision.
Baekhyun wasn’t going out that way. Not today.
Chanyeol turned the cart away from the hall that would lead to the terminal. Almost instantly, Baekhyun’s manager was in his ear. “Where are you taking us?”
“To the employee exit,” Chanyeol replied, making another turn.
“Is that allowed?” the manager asked quietly.
It wasn’t. Chanyeol knew that, but at this moment, he didn’t really care, and besides, as far as he was concerned, he had a pretty good excuse. “The security of our patrons is of utmost importance. Please, dial your driver and give me your phone so I can talk to him to tell him where to go,” Chanyeol replied.
After a few moments of hesitation, the manager complied, and Chanyeol turned to explaining his actions to the voices echoing over the radio. This was the right decision, he was sure of it.
---
“You’re suspended. Two Weeks. No Pay.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “You can’t be — ”
“If you need help let me know.”
Chanyeol’s words died off as Chief Kim’s face softened, concern seeping through. The message was clear. He had already done everything he could.
Chanyeol slowly shook his head as he sat back in his seat, resigned. “I can handle it.” It was far from ideal, but Chanyeol had enough money to last for two weeks. It wasn’t how he planned to take a vacation, but he'd make it work.
A small smile arose on Chief Kim’s face. “Good. When you get back there’ll be some mandatory safety trainings for you to complete. I’m sure you’ll ace them.”
Chanyeol nodded his head. “I’ll do my best. Anything else I should know sir?”
Chief Kim shook his head. “No, you're dismissed.”
Chanyeol gave another nod as he stood up from his chair and headed towards the door. As he spun the handle he looked back once. “Thank you sir.”
Chief Kim shook his head. “You’re a good man Chanyeol. Take care of yourself okay?”
“I will.”
---
“They suspended the security guard that helped you,” Jongdae said as he swiped his phone screen with his thumb.
Baekhyun jerked, head snapping in Jongdae’s direction where he sat on the couch in the recording studio. Minseok was currently in the booth while they both waited outside, listening to the verse of their next title track while idly scrolling on their phones. “What?!”
“Two weeks, no pay. He also has to take some retraining courses when he returns. Damn Baek, you really messed him up, didn’t you?”
“Let me see that,” Baekhyun demanded reaching for Jongdae’s phone.
Jongdae handed over his phone with a small shrug.
Baekhyun grabbed the phone from his hand and quickly began to swipe through the news pages, tapping one of the top articles that already had thousands of views. Sure enough, as Jongdae had said, the security guard had been suspended for breaking procedures when he took him and his manager through the employee area so he didn’t have to leave past the crowds out front three days ago.
Baekhyun supposed he really shouldn’t be surprised.
The reaction to the news, after the first wave of articles on the day of the incident which had blasted Baekhyun for receiving special treatment, was mixed. Some article comment sections were still focused solely on him, continuing to put him on blast for using his power to influence security measures at the airport. Others however, were taking to blaming security for granting such a request.
In conclusion, it was a mess.
Baekhyun’s frown deepened as he continued to scroll through comments, hoping to find at least one that was kind, but the majority on the article he had opened were either now blaming him for getting the security guard suspended or saying the guard got what he deserved. When he finally found a positive comment very far down the page, Minseok was sliding next to him and Jongdae on the couch in the waiting room.
“It’s still pretty bad, huh?” He asked.
Baekhyun nodded, “Yeah, it is. For him too,” he said softly as his finger tapped on the blurred face of Chanyeol. He really shouldn’t have been so rash. Baekhyun would have been fine going through the crowds out front.
Probably.
Minseok sighed. “It’s not like you asked him to do it. He knew the risks.”
“I know, but I still feel bad. He did it to help me. I wish I could do something for him,” Baekhyun whispered softly, but Minseok and Jongdae were both already shaking their heads.
“You know if you do anything, and people find out, the media will have a field day.”
Baekhyun let out a heavy sigh. “I know but… I feel bad. He shouldn’t be getting attacked like this,” Baekhyun murmured, going back to the main page and clicking on another article. This one was worse, calling for Chanyeol to be fired since he apparently was willing to break procedures for celebrities. Baekhyun winced as the responses to that comment turned particularly vitriolic. He closed the page.
Jongdae let out a thoughtful hum as Baekhyun handed him back his phone. “You know, maybe there is something you could do.”
“Like what?” Baekhyun asked. Sometimes Jongdae had good ideas, though not always.
“Well, no one really knows the whole story, do they?” Jongdae elaborated. “They just know that you were taken through a highly restricted area of the airport without authorization. If we release the details, it may calm the masses.”
“Or make it worse,” Minseok countered.
Baekhyun couldn’t disagree with that. Oftentimes, offering more explanations just led to more backlash. Letting things die down naturally, as painful as it was, could sometimes be the best path forward. Still, maybe Jongdae was right this time. Maybe it could clear the air.
No one knew that after Baekhyun had been secreted out of the airport, he’d gone straight to a hospital and been laid up in bed with an IV for several hours, the result of a mixture of dehydration, exhaustion, and anemia according to the doctors - apparently the diet he’d been on for their comeback was not structured properly. They’d made an appointment with a nutritionist to adjust it. It was possible that knowing all that would make a difference to people.
“Do you really think it’d help?” he asked, meeting Jongdae’s eyes.
“I can’t be sure, but yeah I think it will. A lot of people are upset now because it seems like the guard did you a favor without having a good reason, but the reality is he was probably right, given how things went down. You were carried into the hospital, remember? And that was after leaving the airport without incident.”
“True,” Baekhyun agreed. “But what if we do it and it gets worse?”
Jongdae considered his words for a moment before offering up a shrug. “Then it gets worse. It’s not like we haven’t been through that before.”
“True, but he hasn’t,” Baekhyun said, pointing to another blurred picture of Chanyeol that had been uploaded on another article. Thank goodness as a civilian they at least blurred his face.
“You should ask him.”
“What?” Baekhyun jolted, turning to Minseok who had suddenly spoken up again.
“See what he wants to do as well. Like you said, this also impacts him so talk to him and then make a decision,:” Minseok explained.
“I thought you were against this.”
Minsoek offered up a shrug similar to Jongdae’s, “I’m not 100% on it, but, if he also agrees then maybe it is a good plan. Things can’t get that much worse I think.”
Baekhyun considered Minseok’s words briefly, mind flashing to the tattoo he had once spotted on Chanyeol’s wrist, before nodding his head. Chanyeol didn’t deserve the dirt being thrown on his name. Baekhyun wanted to help, if he could.
---
Chanyeol still couldn’t quite believe his eyes even as he walked back into his sister’s living room holding a glass of water which he handed to Baekhyun. Baekhyun, who was sitting there on his sister’s couch as his niece, Soobin, rolled around on the floor.
Chanyeol had been assigned to baby duty since in Yoors’s words, “He might as well make himself useful while unemployed for being an overly devoted fan.”
Chanyeol had stuck his tongue out at her in response, but he didn’t mind really. Soobin was a cutie, and generally good tempered. A day with her would do him good.
The day also including Baekhyun though was something Chanyeol would have never predicted, and yet, there he was, smiling as he took the glass of water from Chanyeol’s hand, looking loads better than he had a few days prior when Chanyeol had made the decision that had caused a minor uproar.
“So,” Baekhyun began, “I guess first, let me apologize again for all the trouble.”
Chanyeol shook his head. “You didn’t even ask me to do it. I did it myself, and I'd do it again too. You were in no condition to go through those crowds.”
“I can’t disagree with you on that last bit,” Baekhyun acknowledged wryly. “Did you know I went to the hospital straight after?”
Chanyeol sat up straighter. “What?” He asked, alarmed.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun said, tone too nonchalant for Canyeol’s liking. This was serious. “Apparently not only was I suffering from exhaustion from not sleeping well and general dehydration, but my new diet was also giving me an iron deficiency. I was hooked up to an IV for several hours.”
“Are you okay now?” Chanyeol asked, eyes scanning Baekhyun up and down, looking for a sign. He did look better than a few days ago, but still, Chanyeol couldn’t be sure. Maybe Baekyun was just a really good actor, but Chanyeol found nothing but sincerity in Baekhyun’s eyes and smile as he nodded his head.
“Yes. They fixed me up pretty good and we’re getting my diet back on track.”
“You don’t need to diet at all,” Chanyeol replied back, making Baekhyun laugh, the sound filling his sister’s apartment.
“You all say that,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Because it’s the truth. You look great right now. There’s no need to change a thing,” Chanyeol argued.
Baekhyun let out another laugh, followed by an awkward cough as he looked away from Chanyeol’s gaze. Chnayeol realized with a start that Baekhyun’s cheeks were also just the littlest bit pink, but before he could recover from that discovery, Baekhyun was speaking again, seemingly trying to push past the moment even as Chanyeol filed it away.
A blushing Baekhyun was cute.
“Anyways, more importantly, since this whole mess seems to be around you doing me a favor, what do you say to releasing my hospital records?”
“What?” Chanyeol asked, eyes widening. He’d known Baekhyun wanted to speak to him about the press coverage, his manager had said as much on the phone, but he hadn’t really expected this.
“As an explanation. People seem to think your actions were not justified. Giving them proof that they were may make at least some of them quiet down, but…”
Baekhyun’s voice trailed off.
“But?” Chanyeol prompted, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
“It could always make it worse too,” Baekhuyn admitted softly.
Chanyeol leaned back in his chair. It was as he had thought, and Baekhyun was right. It could make things better, but it could also make things worse. A lot of fan bases had been spreading things to deflect the blame on to him, just as the general public was trying to blame Baekhyun. This explanation upended both narratives, which could prove disastrous.
“What does your company think of this?” Chanyeol finally asked, looking for some more time to think. He was amused by the snort Baekhyun let out in response.
“Why do you care what they think? This is about you.”
“I’m looking for more opinions,” Chanyeol answered honestly, watching as Baekhyun absorbed his words before a small smile overtook his face.
“You’re quite smart aren’t you? Well, to tell you the truth, they’re 50/50 on if it’ll go well, but, generally they seem to think it won’t make things considerably worse so,” Baekhyun shrugged, the message clear.
Do with that what you can.
Chanyeol was quiet for a few moments during which he reached out to push a toy back closer to Soobin on the floor. It was getting close to time to feed her lunch. Maybe he should invite Baekhyun to stay. It’d buy him some time at least.
---
Baekhyun was caught off guard by Chanyeol’s invitation to lunch, but, he’d gladly accepted, welcoming the ability to escape from comeback preparations for a few more hours. Everyone needed a break now and then, and spending his break watching Chanyeol feed Soobin rice cereal and creamed peas was a welcome escape.
It’d been too long since he’d visited his brother and spent time with his kids. He made a mental note to call Baekbeom later as he laughed at Soobin’s antics and Chanyeol’s occasional struggles to get food actually in her mouth, until he finally felt obligated to try to help, efforts that ultimately led to them both have matching splotches of green on their shirts as Soobin cackled.
“She’s usually not so difficult,” Chanyeol murmured apologetically.
Baekhyun laughed as he dabbed at his shirt, trying to remove the worst of it as Chanyeol cleaned up Soobin.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, reaching out to pinch Soobin’s cheek. “It’s just a sign of her love,” he teased.
Chanyeol laughed. “Perhaps but it’d be good if her love was a little less messy.”
“Maybe,” Baekhyun agreed,” But then again love is often messy isn’t it?” he mused.
Chanyeol flinched. “Sorry, I didn’t think… I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”
Baekhyun blinked, surprised. “What are you…”
Baekhyun trailed off as he realized exactly what Chaneyol was thinking. Seulgi. Of course. Baekhyun studied Chanyeol’s face for a few seconds, frozen once again in a state of minor surprise as he waited for Baekhyun to continue. Baekhyun had two options: lie, or tell Chanyeol the truth about him and Seulgi and face the consequences.
It surprised Baekhyun how certain he was of his decision. Perhaps it was because Chanyeol had already proven himself to Baekhyun already when he’d congratulated him on his and Seulgi’s relationship many months ago, but Baekhyun was sure he could trust Chanyeol, even with this.
“We weren’t really dating.”
“What?” Chanyeol’s eyes were wide with shock. Baekhyun wasn’t surprised. He pressed on, explaining how the last few months of his life had been upended to the point of him being in Chanyeol’s sister's kitchen.
“Some tabloids had blurry pitures of me entering a few different gay bars. My company traded them a dating scandal to make those go away.”
Chanyeol blinked once, twice, then his mouth fell open.
“So you’re…”
Baekhyun nodded once, biting his lip. “Yeah, does that bother you?” Baekhyun was suddenly nervous. Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea. They had straight male fans, and there was no guarantee all would be so open minded as to —
Chanyeol’s laughter cut off Baekhyun's thoughts. “If it bothered me, I’d be bothering myself too.”
Relief washed over Baekhyun like a wave. Good. Everything was good.
---
Everything was really good in fact. In the end, Chanyeol decided to have Baekhyun release the details of his hospital visit, and thankfully, the public actually took the explanation pretty well.
There were still plenty of grumbles about preferential treatment and making up excuses, but no one could deny the authenticity of the hospital records or the doctor’s statement that affirmed that Baekhyun would have likely been injured if he had gone through the typical airport crowd. Even the fans who had been all too happy to shift blame to Chanyeol to protect Baekhyun, lessened their attacks, a somewhat tacit acknowledgement that Chanyeol had kept Baekhyun safe.
All things considered, it was the best outcome they could have hoped for, and it was an outcome Baekhyun and Chanyeol discussed real time as articles were released, Kakao notifications popping up on each others’ phones back and forth during Baekhbyun’s dance practice breaks.
Chanyeol nearly fell out of his bed laughing when as it was getting late into the night Baekhyun sent him a text that said:
B: That’s it, I’m taking off my pants
C: What? Chanyeol texted back, confused.
B: It’s my way of letting them know it’s time to end rehearsal. I’ve had enough for today.
C: So you take off your pants?
B: It’s effective messaging.
Chanyeol shook his head. Baekhyun’s logic was every bit as unbelievable as their interviews had implied.
---
A month later, Chanyeol found himself staring in awe at the contents of an envelope Baekhyun had just passed to him across the table. “Are these real?” Chyanyeol asked, looking up from the envelope.
Baekhyun grinned, a smile going from ear to ear. “Yup, hot off the presses this morning.”
“When you said not to buy tickets, I wasn’t expecting… you didn’t have to do this much,” Chanyeol fumbled over his words as he stared at the tickets again. Front row seats. Even in his wildest dreams he never thought he’d ever get front row seats to see CBX. It was an impossible dream.
Baekhyun shook his head, still smiling. “No, I definitely had to. How else can I repay you for listening to all my whining these past few weeks?”
“I’d have done that for free though,”
“I know, and that’s why they're your’s. Artist’s friend privilege,” Baekhyun said with a wink that made Chanyeol’s heart skip a beat.
They’d been talking long enough that Chanyeol’s crush had morphed into something else. Friendship perhaps was part of it, but... Chanyeol knew he was lying to himself if it was only that given that Baekhyun could still make his heart stop at times. Still, some feelings were best left unexplored. He was happy where they were now, ‘fighting’ over presents.
“You really shouldn’t have,” Chanyeol said once he recovered, pausing just long enough for Baekhyun to start to open his mouth to protest again before continuing solemnly, “but I accept your mission.”
Chanyeol felt content as he watched Baekhyun’s face contort as he burst into later. “It’ll be difficult I’m sure,” he said, catching his breath after a few moments as Chanyeol chuckled in response.
“It may be. I’m sure I’ll struggle to catch your attention among all your beautiful fans,” Chanyeol teased.
“Don’t you know, my attention is reserved only for you,” Baekhyun responded with a wiggle of his eyebrows, making Chanyeol laugh.
“So greasy,” he replied as he grabbed a piece of popcorn and threw it in Baekhyun’s direction, amused by the affronted expression on Baekhyun’s face as he dodged the kernel.
“Hey now, I can’t go back into the airport with popcorn in my hair. They’d never let me live it down,” he said.
“They’d probably say it was cute,” Chanyeol said with a shrug as he bent down to pick up the piece of popcorn from the floor of the private lounge room they’d hid away in as Baekhyun waited for his flight. This was a solo trip for a magazine shoot, so it had been easy to arrange Baekhyun’s schedule so that they could have some time together before his flight left.
Chanyeol was grateful. Texting back and forth all the time was nice, but in person meetings with Baekhyun were always better. It always brightened up Chanyeol’s day, and, if Baekhyun was to be believed, it did the same for him, so Chanyeol didn't feel to guilty about the fact that Baekhyun had to wake up pretty early in order to match up his schedule with Chanyeol’s breakfast break.
“Maybe, but I’d still rather not have popcorn in my hair,” Baekhyun said, interrupting Chanyeol’s thoughts with another laugh.
Chanyeol smiled back, “Well, I think I can handle that,” he said before subtlety pocketing another piece of popcorn as the conversation turned to other things, like Baekhyun’s plans for what he’d do during his free time in France, and how Chanyeol was not looking forward to spending the day searching bags, again.
---
B: I will get you back
C: Looking forward to it
Chanyeol chuckled to himself as he saved another picture of the back of Baekhyun’s head, the piece of popcorn he’d placed there when he’d hugged Baekhyun goodbye clearly visible.
---
The day of the concert passed in a blur for Chanyeol. He’d tried to get off work, but in the end, he had to take a morning shift, which meant he was rushing over from the airport to get to the venue on time. Thankfully, by the time he got there, he still had an hour to spare, giving him enough time to catch his breath before the concert began.
Finally, as the notes of Moonlight filtered into the arena, a shiver ran up Chanyeol’s spine. It was time. Chanyeol raised his lightstick, ready for the show to begin.
---
By the time the confetti was falling, Chanyeol knew he’d never top that day. How could he when he’d had prime viewing of almost every stage, every moment of Baekhyun’s perfect dancing, Jongdae’s impeccable voice and Minseok’s forced aegyo was right in front of him.
There was no way the night could get any better, or so he thought.
Then he found himself being led backstage by one of the venue security guards and Chanyeol found that, oh, it could, because Baekhyun running over to him, bright blue hair bouncing along with him before he tackled Chanyeol in a hug definitely made it better.
Definitely.
“So, what’d you think?” Baekhyun asked once he’d removed himself from Chanyeol’s chest.
“It was amazing Baekhyun, truly,” he said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small bouquet. “I think you might have just killed a few, but here,” he said, holding it out for Bekhyun to take. “I brought it for you.”
Baekhyun’s eyes were gleaming as he took the flowers from Chanyeol’s grasp. “Thank you,” he said, looking up at Chanyeol. A silence passed over them for a few moments before being suddenly broken by a shout.
“Hey lovebirds, can you help us out over here?”
Chanyeol and Baekhyun both jumped before turning to where Jongdae was standing with a couple of his friends, a phone dangling from his grasp.
“Lovebirds?” Chanyeol questioned, turning back to Baekhyun with a tilt of his head, confused.
“Ignore him. Jongdae says stupid things,” Baekhyun replied, cheeks looking a bit red as he turned towards the man in quesiton. “Yeah, yeah, keep your wig on.”
“It’s real!” Jongdae shouted back, pulling on his blonde locks to prove it.
Baekhyun cackled happily as he snapped a few candid pics before settling down and letting Jongdae and his friends pose properly. Once it was done, Jongdae offered to return the favor, but Baekhyun waved him off. “We can handle it,” he said before reaching for Chanyeol’s hand and pulling him down the hall.
“Where are we going?” Chanyeol asked, curious as he looked left and right, trying to take everything in. He didn’t know when he’d get another opportunity like this.
“Figured you’d always wanted to see our dressing room,” Baekhyun answered as he drew to a stop in front of a somewhat nondescript looking door and turned the handle, allowing it to swing open to reveal a room with two black leather couches and three make up tables. Items were still strewn about, no doubt because there was another show the following night.
Chanyeol walked in slowly, taking it all in. There was food and water on a table towards the back. The opening outfits were already hanging on a rack in the corner. And then there were the make-up stations. Chanyeol drew to a stop in front of one of the mirrors, slowly scanning the pictures of Baekhyun that were stuck to it. Baekhyun was smiling in all of them, along with family members, friends, and, Chanyeol noted, Chanyeol himself. Chanyeol smiled as he reached out to tap the mirror. “Your’s I take it?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun said as he walked up to Chanyeol’s side, gaze also on the pictures.
“I like it,” Chanyeol replied, turning to Baekhyun, a smile still on his face.
“Me too,” Baekhyun answered, turning to face him. “Should we add another one?” he asked, holding up his own phone and giving it a shake.
“Sure,” Chanyeol said with a laugh.
Baekhyun slid an arm around Chanyeol’s waist as he held up his phone. “Get lower will you,” he whined, raising his arm holding the phone to try to get them both properly in frame.
“You could try getting taller first.”
Chanyeol yelped as Baekhyun pinched his side. “Alright, alright. Hold on. There, better?” Chanyeol asked, slouching down so his and Baekhyun’s heads were now side by side in the frame.
“Perfect, on the count of three, one, two, three — ”
Chanyeol’s world froze as three things happened in quick succession.
First, Baekhyun’s face turned, pressing his lips to Chanyeol’s cheek.
Two, the camera clicked as a picture was taken.
And three, Baekhyun was pulling away, distancing himself as Chanyeol stood still, staring after him.
---
Surprisingly, Chaneyol spoke first. “Why did you do that?” he asked, a hand raising to ghost over his cheek where he still felt the phantom presence of Baekhyun’s lips.
Baekhyun shuffled slightly from foot to foot before speaking haltingly. “If I said it was because Jongdae’s words held a bit more meaning than I’d like to admit would you understand?”
Chanyeol blinked, momentarily confused before realization dawned. “Lovebirds?” he questioned.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun rasped dryly. “Well, for me anyways. I don’t know about — ”
“Yes,” Chanyeol said, cutting Baekhyun off.
Baekhyun’s eyes snapped up from where they had been trying to burn a hole into the floor. “What?”
“Yes, it’s accurate for me too,” Chanyeol clarified.
Baekhyun’s hunched up shoulders sagged in relief. “So if I said I wanted to do that again?” He ventured.
“I’d say yes,” Chanyeol confirmed.
Bakhyun beamed, stepping forward to do just that, and maybe a little more.