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Joseon, 1792.
Baekhyun flips another page from the book he’s been reading over the past hour, trying to remember the exact pronunciation of each spell. Once, he turned a dog into a wildcat because he misspelled λῠ́κος , a spell to turn something into a wolf. His grandmother offers him a cup of hot tea and steaming buns while she sits down gracefully facing Baekhyun. Baekhyun looks up to her and uses his last card to get out of his reading session.
“Nana,” Baekhyun calls, eyes pleading. “Can I go outside?”
“No, darling. Your mom and dad wouldn’t like that.”
Baekhyun frowns. His parents are too busy to take care of Baekhyun during the daytime so his Nana took him under her care. It’s been like that since Baekhyun was born, so it’s been twenty years since. His Nana is the one training Baekhyun to be one of the most powerful wizards, given the fact that Baekhyun carries Byun as his name. The Byuns have been famous for centuries. Most gifted and powerful wizards and witches are carrying their name— their bloodline. The Byuns are Joseon’s trump card. The King favors them a lot, the Byuns have always assisted them in several wars as per the King’s request and they never lose. By today, the King always invited the Byuns over, including Baekhyun’s parents, to discuss the nation's safety matters.
After a while of blowing raspberries and playing with his long sleeved hanbok, his Nana reaches out to Baekhyun, her hand sitting nicely on top of his. Baekhyun stops his behaviour and apologizes immediately, gaining a small chuckle from his Nana.
“Baekhyun,” His nana says.
Baekhyun hums, his eyes still busy reading ancient alphabet that somehow looks like a child's scribble. “Yes, Nana?”
“I foresaw your future.”
“Nana?” Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. “We can’t foresee the future, right? What are you talking about?”
His Nana smiles and caresses Baekhyun’s face. “I’m gifted, darling. And for what I see, you’ll be really, really happy.”
***
Baekhyun snaps out from his daydream. It’s been a few days since that memory in particular keeps juggling inside his brain. Baekhyun sighs as his fingers delicately plucks dried rose petals away, separates every single of them according to their colour. It could come in handy once Baekhyun launches his newest promotion.
He looks around and studies the various flowers he put nicely in each of the tin baskets, before he pulls out a few stems of baby breaths and arrange them along with the roses. His fingers trace along colourful wraps, contemplating which one will compliment his flowers. Baekhyun chooses the transparent one and carefully shapes it while wrapping the bouquet. He smiles in satisfaction.
Hundreds of years later and he’s still stuck in the human world. Baekhyun starts to question his Nana, just what she saw when she said that? Well yes, he has had a few hookups and a passionate lover, but that was his past. He felt happy, but not genuinely happy. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. He used to be feared, respected and treated nicely. Him being stuck in this world and knowing he can’t cease to exist feels like a punishment instead of a blessing.
Baekhyun loves the modern world he’s living in right now. It’s a thousand percent contrast to the life he used to grow up in, where people will use hanboks like they use t-shirts. And unfortunately, in the modern world, people don’t have much interest in witchcraft— which Baekhyun mastered at. Desperate people come and go, but Baekhyun needs to step up his game unless he wants to kiss goodbye his daily dose of meat, and here he is now. Owning a flower shop. As years went by, Baekhyun memorized every single flower type and it’s meaning.
Baekhyun lightly taps his finished bouquet, repeating the same words over and over again. “Cade in ama. Te mea.” Fall in love. You’re mine.
Baekhyun closes his eyes as he pictures his client. Casting a love spell is not really his forte, Baekhyun always preferred a more powerful spell but his client was someone Jongdae brought so he can’t really say no — he might have cast the spell a few times in one month thanks to Jongdae who always brought love sick clients to him. Baekhyun flicks his finger up in the air, just above the bouquet. As the image of his client gets more vivid, the flowers give off a signature smell. Baekhyun stops when his door rings.
“Um?” The tall, toned man stands in front of Baekhyun’s table. “I’m here to pick up an order for Kim Jongin?”
“Ah!” Baekhyun exclaims, “Just in time!”
Baekhyun slides the bouquet closer to Jongin and the latter picks it up, bringing it closer to his nose.
“Did you really cast a love spell on it?” Jongin asks. “I can’t afford for this to fail, I paid so much.”
Baekhyun confidently nods. “Of course. Did you take me lightly? Rest assured your friend is going to be your boyfriend.”
Jongin shrugs and places down the bouquet as he fishes out his wallet, gives Baekhyun the card which he accepts happily. Jongin signs the machine screen and when it beeps, Baekhyun hands back his card along with the receipt.
“Come back later!” Baekhyun shouts as he waves his hand towards Jongin’s back.
Baekhyun flops down in his seat, still wearing an apron. It’s nearly seven and he hasn’t touched his dinner yet. Jongdae should be back in a few. Baekhyun raises the radio’s volume up to his liking and sings along to whatever song is playing. He has lived long enough to memorize every song played on the radio. He’s just about to hit the high notes when Jongdae enters.
“Baek, you didn’t tell me this sign shit is heavy.” Jongdae pants, still collecting his breath. “You little shit.”
Baekhyun whistles as he scoots over to see the neon sign he ordered closely. “They didn’t lie about using laser cuts. It’s flawless. I like it.”
“Well, I don’t!” Jongdae says. “I had to carry it while walking for twenty fucking minutes.”
Baekhyun shrugs. “I might have jinxed it.”
“YOU WHAT?”
“You need more exercise, Dae. Being my dear apprentice for nearly five hundred years, you should’ve figured out I jinxed it.” Baekhyun raises his hand in defense.
Jongdae reaches for a water bottle and drinks it in one shot, muttering curses under his breath.
“Careful there. I could turn you into a frog.” Baekhyun warns playfully.
Jongdae doesn’t reply to Baekhyun’s playful warning and marches to his own seat. Baekhyun turns his attention back to the neon sign he ordered. The sign reads Les Fleurs de Sorcière. Witch’s flowers. The old sign he has looks shabby and didn’t look promising but he’s dead sure this sign will bring him new customers and money will flood. He brings the foldable stairs from the storage room and then back to drag Jongdae’s ass. Jongdae gives up after Baekhyun keeps nagging at him and lets himself be dragged.
Jongdae perfectly puts the newest sign up and the moment it lit it up, Baekhyun swears it was the best deal he has ever gotten. He squeals and starts producing high pitched noise that Jongdae eventually hits him to make him stop.
“Can’t you not, Byun?” Jongdae hisses. “I’m getting a headache listening to you.”
“Oh no,” Baekhyun coos. “Want papa to cast a spell on you?”
“Fuck you.” Jongdae gives Baekhyun his middle finger before moving back the foldable stairs to the storage room, earning endless laughter from Baekhyun.
Baekhyun rolls out a promotion paper he had prepared beforehand and sticks it in his glass window.
Buy 2 bouquets, free palm reading.
That should do.
***
Baekhyun is always sensitive to a sudden exposure of light, even though he possesses a great control over it. He shifts and covers his half-naked body with a warm duvet as he feels a warm stray of sunlight creep to his face. He’s about to drift back to sleep when Jongdae pulls away his duvet, exposing him.
“RISE AND SHINE, BAEKHYUN!”
Baekhyun growls and puts his pillow over his head. “Get the hell out, Jongdae.”
Jongdae sits on the edge of Baekhyun’s bed, fingers poking his legs. “Wake up, wake up. Kyungsoo made us breakfast.”
As soon as he hears Kyungsoo has made breakfast, Baekhyun reaches for his robe and stretches his limbs. He follows Jongdae downstairs, only to find a familiar face who picked up a certain bouquet at his shop a few days ago.
Baekhyun yawns as he greets him. “Kim Jongin, right?”
Jongin furrows his eyebrows. “Y-You?”
Baekhyun looks back and forth between Kyungsoo who looks half smitten with Jongin, and Jongin who looks at Baekhyun with shaky pupils. Then everything connects.
“Ah.” Baekhyun smiles. “Good morning, Soo. What are you making?”
Jongin whispers a thank you for not bringing up the subject and Baekhyun just nods. Although maybe slightest confusion rose up in Jongin’s mind. How come Kyungsoo didn’t ask why Baekhyun knew his name almost instantly?
Baekhyun sits in front of Kyungsoo, slurping his breakfast soup eagerly. He stuffs his mouth with dumplings that Kyungsoo made and stops when his belly couldn’t take any more.
“I didn’t know you guys know each other?” Kyungsoo says as he serves Jongin more rice.
“Ah, about that. I-”
“He usually places a bulk order for his company at the shop,” Baekhyun answers while drinking his water. “Jongdae helps me pick the best flower of the day.”
Jongdae glances at Baekhyun and receives the signal. “Oh, yes. You know, Baekhyun’s flower choices sometimes just suck.”
“Dae, what the-”
Kyungsoo laughs. “Really? I thought a music company didn’t need flowers?”
Jongin just sheepishly smiles as he eats his rice. “You’ll never know what’s inside the CEO’s head.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes then taps on his inflated stomach. “Thank you for the food!”
“You basically inhaled the dumplings,” Kyungsoo snorts. “I won’t be surprised if you come running to me later with a stomach ache.”
Baekhyun pouts as he stands to tidy up after himself. “Watch me.”
Jongdae is on dish washing duty so Baekhyun excuses himself to get ready. Shop opens at 9am and it’s 8 now. After a quick shower, Baekhyun applies his routine skincare and sunscreen before meeting Jongdae downstairs. It takes them around thirty minutes by subway and an additional five minutes walking to reach their shop. Baekhyun sings songs as he unlocked the door, getting his apron and his flower scissors.
“Jongdae! Would you change the water please?” Baekhyun half shouts as his hands are busy trimming flower stems.
“Yea, yea, just a minute.” Jongdae replies as he carries a few empty tin buckets ready to be filled with fresh water.
The door suddenly rings and a young, beautiful woman appears right in front of Baekhyun. He quickly puts his flower scissors down and smiles. “How can I be of help?”
The woman seems confident in Baekhyun’s eyes, but her body language tells him differently. Sure, now he’s a florist but thanks to his curse, Baekhyun has tried many different jobs and being a florist is one of his favorites. He can cast a spell without being noticed and it works effectively.
“Do you perhaps have another service other than palm reading?” The woman asks, fidgeting. “I heard you can do spells, too.”
That piqued Baekhyun’s interest. “Yes, that’s right. But it could cost a fortune.”
The woman waves her hands. “It’s okay. Can I?”
Baekhyun smiles wider. “Please have a seat. I should ask some questions first, if you don’t mind?” He says as the woman makes herself comfortable.
“So,” he says as he pushes his glasses up and takes the nearest pen he could reach. “What’s your name, and what spell do you want me to do?”
“I’m Kim Gayoung.” she replies. “And I need your best love spell.”
Baekhyun jots down her name and looks up. “Every love spell works differently, Gayoung-ssi. It depends on the receiver. It might not be successful, too.”
“Don’t you have an ultimate love spell that will work efficiently?”
Baekhyun shrugs. “Every love spell is the same. It’s just different according to what you want to do. For instance, a love spell for making someone head over heels at you and a love spell for making them accept you are different.
“Making someone accept me?” Gayoung asks, “Isn’t it the same as making someone fall head over heels?”
“No, no,” Baekhyun waves his hand. “The love spell for making someone accept you will work if she or he is indeed in love with you, you know? Like when you are really nervous when you admit your feelings? But a spell for making someone fall head over heels is like chaining them into a hallucination that they are crazily in love with you.”
“Um, okay. So a love spell for making someone accept me has a fifty-fifty chance, right?” Gayoung makes sure, and Baekhyun nods.
“Yes.” Baekhyun confirms. “It’s only to make sure that they are really in love with you— in case you don’t want to fall into a loveless relationship, let alone your partner cheat on you. The spell only works like that. No harm intended.”
“I’d like to get that one then please. Do I need to be the one giving it?” Gayoung sighs, her fingers intertwined with each other. “I’m quite afraid of rejection.”
Baekhyun proudly offers her. “We can do delivery. But I would need your target’s photo too, not just yours.”
“Why is that?”
“To make sure everything runs smoothly. Don’t want to risk anything.”
Gayoung slides over a photo to Baekhyun along with her card. “I want it done now. I’ll write down the delivery address as you arrange the flowers.”
“Sure!”
Baekhyun takes a closer look at the photo. His heart thumping like crazy— the man in the photo is sure attractive. Defined jaw, almond auburn eyes, plump pink lips and strange pointy ears is enough to put this man into his top one hundred attractive men over the years list. He puts the photo down and starts choosing freshly delivered flowers. He chooses red salvia, lilacs, and a few stems of yarrow and white clovers. Baekhyun chooses a brownish paper as he delicately wraps it around his arranged flowers. Gayoung locks her eyes on Baekhyun while the latter recites some old spell in a language she doesn’t understand. A smile creeps up to Baekhyun’s face once he is done reciting the spell.
“You done?”
Baekhyun slides her card and gives her the sign pad. “Yes. Have you written the delivery address?”
Gayoung signs it and Baekhyun trades her card with a piece of paper. “Yes. Can you deliver it around lunch time?”
“All set.” Baekhyun finally says and Gayoung takes the photo back with her.
“Thank you.” She says before exiting the shop. Baekhyun glances at the clock. He needs to go in an hour, so maybe now he can help Jongdae with caring for the delivered flowers.
***
Baekhyun nervously holds onto the bouquet. He didn’t know it would lead him into a decent looking office building, with a big sign in the front that says Phoenix Entertainment. He takes a few deep breaths before brace himself entering the lobby. He goes straight into the information desk and is informed that he needs to make an appointment first to meet this Park guy, Baekhyun scoffs. He blinks a few times, muttering under his breath. “Послушай меня.” Listen to me. The girl who sits behind the information desks smiles at Baekhyun.
“I want to meet Park Chanyeol now. Would you escort me?”
“Yes, sir. This way.”
Smooth. It feels funny that Baekhyun has to cast a spell just to let himself in to deliver flowers. He follows the girl, trying to ignore weird looks thrown at him because he’s carrying a bouquet and his clothes screams date me. Baekhyun regrets it instantly, ‘why didn’t he just send Jongdae instead’ he thought, but his stubborn self really wanted to see this Park Chanyeol guy in real life. The girl excuses herself once she brings Baekhyun right in front of a wooden door with a metal engraved sign CEO in it. Baekhyun calms himself before knocking on his door.
“Come in.”
Baekhyun smirks when he hears a deep voice calling him inside. His excitement grows more when he finally sees Park Chanyeol face to face.
“Um,” He says in confusion. “Who are you?”
“Oh, right,” Baekhyun places the bouquet in front of Chanyeol. “Someone asked me to deliver this for you.”
“How did you enter my office?” Chanyeol asks, his tone slightly raised. “You—“
Before Chanyeol could finish his sentence, Baekhyun runs out from his office while muttering another spell in a hurry. “Unsichtbar.” Invisible. When Baekhyun finally catches his breath, he checks the spell by waving his hand in front of a sitting worker drinking his cup of coffee. He doesn’t budge.
It works! Baekhyun squeals. After not really using his magic for years, casting spells always thrills Baekhyun. After all, magic is something people don’t believe right now. He hurries toward the door and walks back to his shop. His magic wears off just when he enters his shop.
“Fucking hell.” Jongdae curses. “I thought I saw a ghost.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“You literally showed up inside the shop.” Jongdae defends himself.
“Yeah, whatever.” Baekhyun brushes it off and sits beside Jongdae. “You know, that Park guy is really handsome. I might have to put him at number one on my list.”
Jongdae raises his eyebrows. “Isn’t number one still Sehun?”
Baekhyun sings songs as he looks for Chanyeol’s press picture on Google. Turns out Chanyeol is quite famous. “Yeah, but it’s been years since I last saw him.”
“Sehun was quite something, wasn’t he?” Jongdae remarks. “You were sure he could break the curse.”
“I was, but it didn’t work.” Baekhyun sighs. “Maybe I can’t really escape the curse.”
“Nonsense, Baek. You will. You’ve lived way too long.”
“I agree.”
***
Chanyeol stares at the bouquet placed in front of him. It’s arranged the way he likes it but he can’t figure out how that short male entered his office without making a commotion with his secretary. He sniffs the flower and immediately sneezes. He rubs his nose and pulls out the card.
Chanyeol-ah, do you want to be my boyfriend?
Call me.
Gayoung
Cheap trick, Chanyeol thinks. Gayoung must have tried to jinx the flower because Chanyeol sneezes immediately. He calls in his secretary.
“Yes, Chanyeol?”
“Jongin, will you help me find where this flower shop is?” Chanyeol says as he gives Jongin the card. He notices how Jongin’s expression changes. “Hm?”
“O-Okay. But why do you need it?” he asks nervously.
Chanyeol turns his chair sideway, enjoying Seoul’s exceptional blue sky in front of him. “Because someone tried to play a trick on me.” he says.
“O-Oh, Okay” Jongin says.
After Jongin leaves him, he decides to give Gayoung a call. It hasn’t crossed Chanyeol’s mind why he has this way of knowing if something is off, but Gayoung has gone too far. She literally put something in the flowers. It goes straight to her voicemail so Chanyeol leaves her an earful of complaints, ending his voicemail with a short wish, “Don’t contact me again.”
Chanyeol has always hated people who put him in awkward situations, where he can’t do anything. He had to learn the hard way that life isn’t always going to go the way you want it to be and in his twenty seven years of living, his motto is always cut off contacts with people who only do harm to you. He pinches the bridge of his nose. Being the CEO doesn’t mean Chanyeol could slack off, he built this company from ground up and Phoenix Entertainment is his baby. Being one of the top entertainment offices in South Korea also means Chanyeol has to work harder to please people. Chanyeol stares out his window before going back to checking on the preparations for the upcoming comeback album he has to prepare.
Jongin knocks on his office about an hour later and rubs his nape. Chanyeol doesn’t look up when Jongin sheepishly gives back the shop’s detail. Chanyeol already knows by now that Jongin is going to confess something.
“I may.. actually been into the shop.”
Chanyeol flips the paper back and forth. “Finally you got the gut to say so. Where exactly is this shop?”
“It’s about a fifteen minute drive from here. Want me to take you there after office hours ends?” Jongin offers.
“Please.”
***
Chanyeol tilts his head once he arrives at the shop. The neon sign itself already looks fancy but he’s way more interested in the promotion poster.
Buy 2 bouquets, free palm reading.
Should he try? Chanyeol shrugs and enters the shop, only to find another shopkeeper inside. He actually wants to meet the one who delivered the flower to his office and maybe gives him an earful. The shopkeeper, — Jongdae— Chanyeol reads his nametag, welcomes him.
“Hello! How can I be of help?”
Chanyeol looks around. “Can I meet the person who delivered a bouquet to my office earlier today please?”
Jongdae nods. “Please wait. I’ll go get him.”
Chanyeol waits while his eyes wander. There’s so many flowers he never knew existed. Chanyeol isn't exactly a fan of flowers, but it does fascinate him to see various types of flowers, and how it’s neatly arranged in each of its buckets. Maybe the owner put it based on it’s type. Chanyeol only knows roses and carnations all his life, so reading each handwritten tag placed on the tin bucket puts him in awe.
“Hello?” A voice calls for him. “Did you ask for me?”
Chanyeol turns around to find a man smiling at him. He was the one who delivered the bouquet to his office, and now Chanyeol looks at him closely, something in him clicks.
“Ah, yes.” Chanyeol replies. “I was wondering if I could get a free palm reading?”
“Sure. But you need to purchase two bouquets.”
“Alright.” Chanyeol quickly agrees and pays attention to how the smaller male moves to pick random flowers Chanyeol doesn’t know and wraps it. Chanyeol’s eyes are fixed to his name tag. Baekhyun. That’s a pretty name.
“So.. Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asks, his tone unsure.
Baekhyun hums as his hand trims a daisy stem. “Yes, Chanyeol-ssi?”
“Don’t be formal. It’s okay.” Chanyeol says. “It’s our second meeting, anyway.”
Baekhyun flashes a small smile. “Right. So what brings you here? I doubt it’s not because of the free palm reading.”
“I just want to know if Gayoung jinxed my flowers.” Chanyeol says as he looks at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun looks up quickly, clearly looking surprised. “Uh.” He shouldn’t have known I put a spell on his flower, though.
“I’m not blaming you.” Chanyeol relaxes as he sits down. “I just have this weird ability to sense if something’s off and I sneezed when I sniffed the flowers.”
“Oh.” Baekhyun put his attention back to wrapping his second bouquet. His mind is a total mess though. It’s the first time someone managed to avoid his spell. It hasn't happened since Sehun. Baekhyun really feels uneasy right now that Chanyeol fixes his eyes on him.
The awkward silence fills them and Baekhyun can feel his fingers start to tremble. He carefully cut the craft rope to finish the bouquet and put them side by side in front of Chanyeol. Chanyeol shamelessly opens his palm and gives it to Baekhyun. Baekhyun widens his eyes but nevertheless he carefully places Chanyeol’s big hand on top of his. It feels warm.
Baekhyun stares for a while before he traces Chanyeol’s life line with his finger. It feels ticklish to Chanyeol but he endures it.
“This is your dominant hand, I suppose?” Chanyeol nods.
Baekhyun continues his explanation. “This hand will show you your present and past life. This line here,” Baekhyun shows Chanyeol, “is your life line. It’s pretty long and unbroken. This means that you are a solid, dependable person.”
Baekhyun moves his finger between Chanyeol’s thumb and index finger. “This is your head line. Your head line is connected to your life line. This means that you are creative.”
Chanyeol nods a few times while listening to Baekhyun.
“This here, is your heart line. It’s quite straight, though,” Baekhyun says in awe. “This means you are level headed and realistic about relationships. And this line here is the fate line. You were born with such luck. Maybe this is why you sneezed.”
“How about this hand?” Chanyeol exchanges his palm.
Baekhyun studies Chanyeol’s other palm carefully before putting Chanyeol’s hand back on the cold table. “The offer is only for one hand.”
Chanyeol eyed him. “Hey!”
Baekhyun snorts. “What? Now you can choose to pay in cash or in card.”
Chanyeol grunts and fishes out his wallet, giving Baekhyun his card. The transaction goes smoothly without both of them exchanging more words and Chanyeol leaves his shop carrying two bouquets of freshly arranged flowers.
Jongdae places down take away soup from a restaurant down the street in front of Baekhyun, which the latter thanked him for. Jongdae sits beside Baekhyun and watches how their printer starts printing Chanyeol’s photo.
“Really, Byun?” Jongdae can’t believe his eyes. “That Park guy literally just left and you're already printing his photo?”
Baekhyun whistles. “I need to update my list, that’s all. Anyway, Dae. I think that Chanyeol guy could break my curse.”
“That’s great!”
“What’s great, you dimwit?” Baekhyun retorts as he cuts Chanyeol’s photo. “I have to make him fall in love with me.”
“You turn heads wherever you go. That should be easy.”
Baekhyun hits Jongdae. “I may not have aged since thousand years ago but it’s been awhile since Sehun. I don’t really know how to flirt.”
“You just need to loosen up, Baek.” Jongdae encourages him. “And I firmly believe that you attracted Park’s attention, too.”
“How can you be so sure?” He says as he looks at Chanyeol’s photo again.
“He left you his freaking number,” Jongdae says in disbelief as he points out to a small paper Baekhyun didn’t notice before.
“Oh god.”
***
Baekhyun paces in his apartment while holding his phone and a small crumpled paper. Jongdae and Kyungsoo simultaneously raise their heads. Kyungsoo almost throws Baekhyun the leek he’s holding if not for Jongdae who gestures at Kyungsoo to calm down.
“Stop pacing around, for the love of god, you make me dizzy!” Kyungsoo complains.
Baekhyun glares at Kyungsoo. “I’m dizzy, too!”
“Then sit the fuck down, idiot.”
Jongdae continues to type in his laptop. “Why are you so restless, Baek? Just text him if you want to.”
“That’s the problem, Dae.” Baekhyun lets out a long sigh. “What should I text him?”
“Hi, I’m Baekhyun?”
Baekhyun stops pacing. “Really? That’s lame. Even Kyungsoo’s grandma didn’t text me like that.”
“You text with my grandma?” Kyungsoo asks in disbelief.
“I do, sometimes.” Baekhyun shrugs. “Any idea how to send someone a text, Soo?”
“You type, then hit the send button.” Kyungsoo flatly replies as he continues to chop the leek. “What’s so hard about it?”
Baekhyun coughs. “Let me fix the question. How do you send someone handsome and potentially could be your lover slash curse breaker a text?”
Kyungsoo puts down his knife. “Hello, I’m Baekhyun. You’re handsome. Be mine?”
Baekhyun crumples the paper and throws it at Kyungsoo, the paper landing perfectly at Kyungsoo’s forehead.
“YOU LITTLE----”
“Guys, calm down. Breath in, breath out.” Jongdae comes between them, hands spread. “Calm down.. Good.”
Baekhyun deflates on the chair. “Give me proper ideas, guys.”
“Try to just introduce yourself. We can see from there.” Jongdae suggests.
“That’s… actually a good idea.”
***
Chanyeol keeps checking his phone, his music sheet still left empty. It’s been three hours since Chanyeol stepped into his studio to work on new songs, yet he can’t concentrate.
Will Baekhyun text him today?
Chanyeol spins his pen, engrossed in various scenarios playing inside his head, what if Baekhyun texts him or should he text him first? What if Baekhyun doesn’t realize that he left him his number just because he’s too embarrassed to give it directly to him? What if Baekhyun accidentally put it in the trash bin along with the flower petals he plucked? What if—
Chanyeol’s phone suddenly chimes, making him jolt up from his seat. He immediately opens to see the message.
[ Jongin, 2.31 PM : Do you want me to grab some packaged lunch? ]
Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “I got excited for nothing.”
[ Chanyeol, 2.32 PM : Grab me the chicken salad.]
[ Jongin, 2.32 PM : Roger. ]
Chanyeol leans back in his working chair. That Baekhyun guy sure catches his eyes. With those pink lips and droopy eyes, Baekhyun is just his type. Honestly, if it was Baekhyun who sent him the flower instead of Gayoung, Chanyeol might just say yes despite the sneeze. Chanyeol grabs his pencil and starts making outlines for his lyrics. Since Baekhyun and flowers are constantly rotating in his head, he figured that might help with his new song. He’s just about to write the first letter when his phone chimes again.
Chanyeol groans. “I swear if this is Jongin--”
[ Unknown, 2.40 PM : Hello. This is Baekhyun >< ]
A smirk slowly creeps to Chanyeol’s face as he types the reply.
[ Chanyeol, 2.41 PM : Hello, Baekhyun. This is Chanyeol :) ]
***
One exchanged text becomes two, two becomes three, and one month has passed since Baekhyun and Chanyeol exchange ‘friendly’ texts. Jongdae always insists that they should fuck each other already because now every single day, Chanyeol would come to their shop only to drop a packaged dinner or buying some fresh flowers for his office decoration. But today is different. Baekhyun keeps glancing at his watch. Chanyeol is later than usual. He opens up his phone and is about to text him when the latter arrives, breathless and sweat on his forehead.
“I’m— I’m late, aren’t I?” Chanyeol catches his breath as his body bends, hand on his knee.
“Don’t sweat it, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun pulls some tissue and hands it to Chanyeol. “I didn’t plan on going anywhere.”
“Yeah.” Chanyeol agrees. “But I promised you a date today.”
“Oh?” Baekhyun exclaims, mouth agape. “I thought we were going for dinner?”
“Um, yes.” Chanyeol rubs his nape. “But I want it to be our first date.”
That brings a smile to Baekhyun’s face. Chanyeol isn’t as bad as he thought, and apparently spending time with him has been the most pleasing time he had ever had. Maybe Baekhyun shouldn’t worry over how to make Chanyeol fall in love with him. Maybe Baekhyun should worry if he’s ready to fall in love again.
“Okay. I’ll go get change so wait here.”
Baekhyun quickly takes off his apron and rushes to the bathroom, checking his hair and making sure that everything is neat. His heart is having a marathon. Baekhyun shakes his head. ‘Just don’t fall in love with Chanyeol’ He tells himself. After a while, he follows Chanyeol to his car.
Chanyeol steps on the accelerator once he makes sure that Baekhyun secures his seatbelt— Baekhyun insists that using a seatbelt is unnecessary. Chanyeol drives them to an expensive looking restaurant that Baekhyun knows perfectly well inside and out. He lived way too long. The maître d’ greets them.
“Mr. Park.” She bows slightly. “This way, please.”
Chanyeol nods and gestures Baekhyun to follow the maître d’. She leads them into a private booth, next to a big window that pictures Seoul night perfectly.
“Please order what you want, Baek.” Chanyeol asks as the maître d’ hands them the menu book. Baekhyun bites his lower lip as he chooses.
“Can I have Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016?” Baekhyun points to the menu. “And a medium tenderloin steak, please. Also please tell Chef Do I want it like usual."
The maître d’ nods and she turns to Chanyeol.
“I’ll have what he orders.”
The maître d’ excuses herself and Chanyeol finds Baekhyun really amusing. He stares at him while Baekhyun is engrossed in the city lights. Baekhyun has unbelievable features, Chanyeol must say. Everything about Baekhyun seems surreal. He’s just so beautiful.
“Stop gawking at me, Park.” Baekhyun finally says and locks his eyes with Chanyeol. “Enjoy what you see?” he says.
Chanyeol smirks. “Actually, yeah.”
Baekhyun could feel his cheek getting hot. “Shut it.”
“Anyway, do you often visit this restaurant?” Chanyeol says.
“You could say that.” Baekhyun replies. “Before this restaurant was built, it was my favorite seolleongtang restaurant. The aunt was so kind. She would give me extra meat whenever I ate there.”
Chanyeol raises his eyebrows. “But this restaurant is thirty years old, though?”
“Right.” Baekhyun beams. “You don’t know much about me, Park.”
“Then tell me.” Chanyeol says, resting his head in his hand.
“Nah. Don’t want to risk it.” Baekhyun shrugs.
Chanyeol pleads with his eyes. “I don’t even know your family name. Basically all I know is your name and your work hours.”
“Uh huh,” Baekhyun purrs. “Believe me you don’t want to know me more, Chanyeol.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I might not be as good as you thought.”
Chanyeol kept begging Baekhyun to tell him more even when they arrived in front of Baekhyun’s apartment unit. Baekhyun scrunches his nose. Indeed, they have grown much closer but Baekhyun can’t risk falling in love with Chanyeol, not when he knows he is going to hurt him in the end.
“I can’t, Yeol. I have my reasons.” Baekhyun tries to brush it off. His hand reaches for the door when suddenly Chanyeol grabs his wrist.
“Baek,” Chanyeol calls, his voice soft and low. “We may have only known each other recently, but I can’t deny that I’m really attracted to you. Something in you piqued my interest and those times when we exchanged texts makes me even more sure that I want to know you better.”
Baekhyun lowers his head. “No, Chanyeol, you don’t—“
“I don’t care, Baek. I just need to be with you. I know you feel the same.” Chanyeol lifts Baekhyun’s chin up, his thumb gently caressing the latter’s cheek. “And I really want to know more about you.”
“You will regret it, Park.”
“No, I won’t.”
Baekhyun bites his lower lips. “Baby steps, okay?”
Chanyeol smiles and kisses Baekhyun’s forehead. “Alright.”
Baekhyun enters his apartment after making sure Chanyeol didn’t change his mind and barges into his apartment—although Baekhyun highly doubts that Chanyeol will do so. He puts his shoes aside and goes straight to his study. Baekhyun’s study is quite big, with wooden furniture and few antiques he has collected over the years. Baekhyun sighs as his eyes drift to see photos and pictures of him. He still looks exactly the same as he was during the Joseon era. Time sure flies, but that isn’t exactly the reason why he can’t leave this world yet. He is cursed.
He closes his eyes as he lies back in his chair. Memories start flooding back to him like a tsunami.
Joseon, 1797.
Baekhyun is jolted awake by a sudden pull from his Nana. He grunts as he sits up, rubbing his eyes. He’s sure it's only been two hours since he fell asleep.
“Baekhyun,” His Nana said in a hurry. “We have to save your parents.”
That sentence makes Baekhyun’s heart stop. “W-What?”
“We’re under attack. Joseon is under attack. The Han dynasty dropped a bomb just now. Your parents barely managed to dodge it. We must help.” His Nana starts packing a few clothes. “I don't really feel good about this.”
Baekhyun stops his Nana’s hand from packing. “You stay, Nana. I’ll go there. Please cast a spell for your own safety.”
His Nana nods and gives Baekhyun reassurement. Baekhyun grabs his heungeup — Joseon style hat— and rushes to the place where his parents are. The battle field is nasty. Bodies lying everywhere and Baekhyun has to dodge several arrows shot at him. He takes a deep breath as he finally reaches his parents. Baekhyun’s eyes grew wider as he was not expecting to meet them in such condition.
“Mom, Dad,” Baekhyun says as he sits on the ground beside them, his voice shaky. “What happened?”
His mom weakly reaches to hold Baekhyun’s hand. “The Hans brought someone matching our capabilities, Baekhyun. They are stronger than us.”
“Mom..” Baekhyun pulls his mom closer as she coughs blood. It tears Baekhyun’s heart apart. “We can win this. I can. Please hang on. I’ll fetch a healer here.”
His dad ruffles Baekhyun’s hair, smiling as he struggles to sit down beside him. Baekhyun could clearly see blood seeping through his father’s hanbok. “Dad..”
“I believe you can. I raised a powerful wizard.” His dad proudly says, his teeth clenching.
Baekhyun carefully places his mom’s head over to his dad’s lap. “I’ll fetch a healer. Please hang on until I come back from the battlefield.”
Baekhyun navigates his way easily and asks one of the healers to tend his parents while he prepares himself to enter the battlefield. He takes a deep breath before assisting Joseon’s soldiers. He casted safety and strength spells over and over again, never stopping until someone put him under another spell. Baekhyun tries his best to break free from the spell— he needs to assist Joseon’s soldier so they can bring victory home— but the spell is too strong. He looks around only to find a fair skinned man with blonde hair walks up to him smiling. Baekhyun swears he’s going to put a dagger on his throat.
“Well well well. Another Byun, hm?” His tone, cocky. “I thought you guys were better than this.”
“Who the hell are you?” Baekhyun hisses.”You’ll regret this.”
“Calm down, dragon.” He laughs. “Ever heard of Han Yixing?”
“No.”
“Poor you.” Yixing pat Baekhyun’s head. “I’m the strongest wizard in this whole world. And I’m going to kill you.”
“Pfft.”Baekhyun scoffs. “As if. Ever heard of Byun Baekhyun?”
“It’s you, little one.”
“You’re right. That’s me.” Baekhyun nods, smirking. He knows he can’t be reckless. One wrong step could make him stuck in between being cursed or dead. Yixing obviously is a smart wizard. He tied him up using dark magic and the only way out was for Baekhyun to do the same. “So I’m that famous, huh? What brings you here?”
“Revenge.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Ah,” Yixing frowns, taking a step closer to Baekhyun, his finger lifting up Baekhyun’s chin so their eyes meet. “I think you were still a baby when your parents decided to kill mine. I’m here to return the favor.”
In the wizardry world, wizards killing each other is no surprise. In order to win certain big battles, like the one Baekhyun is in the middle of, sometimes it costs you your life or somebody else's. He has lived long enough to know that this battle might cost him his life too, but he can’t let Hans win. Baekhyun can’t do that. He needs to use his brain.
No way out. This is it. If Baekhyun has to die as the result then so be it. The consequences of him using dark magic can’t be escaped. He takes a deep breath.
“How kind of you to return me the favor.” Baekhyun pesters his best smile. “Han Yixing—”
“Enough introduction, don’t you think?” Yixing yawns. “Now say goodbye--”
Baekhyun spits on him. “Really? Look behind you.”
The moment Yixing drifts his attention away from Baekhyun, he quickly casts a spell and it works. He’s free. He stands up on the ground and starts mouthing another spell to tie Yixing up, but nothing works. Baekhyun could feel his entire body starting to get cold.
“You think your little distraction would make you have a chance to put me to death, didn’t you?” Yixing turns back to face Baekhyun. “Well, it won’t. Now, I’ll leave you to death.”
Baekhyun could see Yixing two fingers saluting him before disappearing into thin air. Baekhyun feels his throat burning, like someone suffocating him. He falls to the ground, gasping for air. Maybe Baekhyun isn’t as great as what people say. Baekhyun focuses on his mind spell, he might just have learned it but this should come in handy. As fresh air starts to fill in his lungs, Baekhyun clenches his fist. He is too furious. Baekhyun starts to imagine a battle won by Joseon, as the image starts to become clearer, he mutters various spells his Nana taught him. Some are advanced dark spells that Baekhyun managed to master in a few days. His body starts to light up and all Baekhyun remembers after was dark.
Baekhyun takes a deep breath as he opens his eyes. His life is a mess. He tries his best to deny the fact that Chanyeol really lights up his day— or at least Chanyeol makes it all bearable. Baekhyun feels like he’s walking on a thin line. He can’t deny that Chanyeol ignites something in his heart— excitement. Adrenaline. He feels nothing but happy when he spends time with Chanyeol but what if he hurt him? Baekhyun can’t imagine a life without Chanyeol now. Will he be able to bear it all?
***
Dates become their regular thing. Baekhyun never reveals too much about him aside from general known facts such as he hates cucumbers, he likes to sing, and he enjoys the night time views. Baekhyun knows something is up when Chanyeol picks him up earlier than usual.
“What’s in your hand, Park?” Baekhyun coyly asks through his comm, looking straight at Chanyeol carrying a big shopping bag in front of his door.
“Open up, Baek.”
Baekhyun opens his door and Chanyeol quickly takes off his shoes and puts his shopping bag on the kitchen counter. Baekhyun trails him behind. Chanyeol pulls out the ingredients he brought and puts it all on the table.
“Are you doing Masterchef or what?”
Chanyeol hums. “I want to do a home date. I figured you never tried my cooking before so this is a perfect moment.”
Baekhyun frowns. “I thought we’re going outside?”
“Baek, it’s fucking freezing out there.” Chanyeol complaints. “Believe me. My home date is something I don’t offer to anyone.” Chanyeol starts getting the items he brought organized.
“Well, okay. Prove it then.” Baekhyun sits on one of the chairs in the kitchen counter and watches Chanyeol move to cut his veggies. Baekhyun never thought that a domestic looking Chanyeol would be so attractive. If only this kind of thing could last forever. Only if he could wish for it.
Baekhyun is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't realize Chanyeol had finished cooking and served him a plate of pasta. He shakes his head and focuses back on Chanyeol.
“Kimchi tomato pasta.” Chanyeol proudly presents. “By yours truly.”
“Let’s see if this dish deserves praise.” Baekhyun eats the pasta slowly, savoring a unique taste lingering in his mouth.
“So?” Chanyeol waits in anticipation.
“Perfect score.” Baekhyun winks.
Chanyeol yelps in excitement and from that moment, Baekhyun knows he messed up. He falls for Chanyeol.
Their dinner quickly ends with both of them exchanging stories of how their day went. Baekhyun washes the dishes while Chanyeol cleans the table. Chanyeol finishes his chores first and wraps Baekhyun up in a hug.
“You know, Baek. I really want our future to look like this.” Chanyeol sweetly whispers. “I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”
Baekhyun smiles weakly, but Chanyeol doesn’t have to know that. “You're so sappy. You don’t know what you signed up for when you said that.”
“I know. I’m ready to listen to your rant. I’m happy as long as I have you beside me.”
Baekhyun puts his last dish down. He turns to face Chanyeol. “Yeol, you really have no idea. I.. I’m not your best choice.”
Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows. “Nonsense, Baek. Since I met you, I feel at home. No one has embraced me the way you did. No one smiles the way you smile. No one understands me like you do. I might not be the best when I have to express all of my feelings but your eyes— they understand me, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun sighs. He can’t keep his secret longer than he should have, now that Chanyeol confessed to him like this. Baekhyun can’t afford to lose more so he makes up his mind. He’s going to tell Chanyeol everything. If Chanyeol leaves him, that’s entirely alright too. It’s better if Baekhyun is the one hurting, as long as it’s not Chanyeol.
“I.. have something to confess to you, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun quietly says. “I understand if you want to leave and pretend this never happened but I need you to listen to me.”
Chanyeol feels uneasy but he nods. Baekhyun leads them to his study and lets Chanyeol look around. Baekhyun sits on his sofa while waiting for Chanyeol who doesn’t seem to believe his own eyes.
“B-Baek.. is this all.. you?” Chanyeol clearly looked taken aback.
“Yes, Chanyeol.”
“B-But.. how?”
“Let me properly introduce myself then.” Baekhyun stands up and bow slightly to Chanyeol. “I’m Byun Baekhyun.”
Chanyeol is surprised. “As in.. powerful wizard family I read in history books?”
Baekhyun nods. “Yes, that’s the one.”
“That— that would mean you’re more than a thousand years old.” Chanyeol calculates in his head. “How come..?”
Baekhyun points out to one of his photos drawn by a famous painter in Joseon back then. “I didn’t age, Chanyeol. I was cursed. My time has been stopped. I’ve been looking everywhere for someone that might help my time to start flowing again. I meant, I’ve gotten signs, yes, but last time I encouraged myself that he was the one, I just ended up getting disappointed. I hurt him.”
Chanyeol didn’t reply. Baekhyun takes it as his cue to continue. “I can show you how my past life looks like, Chanyeol. I can show you what happened to me, only if you want me to.”
Chanyeol slowly nods and Baekhyun conjures another spell that projects his memories in front of Chanyeol. From his first walk, first spell, first injuries and how he ends up getting a curse. Baekhyun watches all of it unfolding before his own eyes, and he could feel tears rolling down his cheek.
Chanyeol braces himself to scoop Baekhyun up into a bear hug. He let Baekhyun cry his heart out while soothing his back. “Hey. It’s okay, Baekhyun. Really. I’m so proud that you’re so strong. I’m so happy that you’re here. I’m so happy that we met. It must be hard on you during those days but let me be your companion so you won’t feel lonely ever anymore, hm?”
Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun slowly nodding in his embrace, and he couldn’t be more happier. Baekhyun calms down after a few minutes and Chanyeol leads them to sit down. His hand softly brings Baekhyun’s head to rest on his broad shoulder.
“You know,” Baekhyun’s voice hoarse. “I thought you’d leave me instantly.”
Chanyeol caresses Baekhyun’s hair. “What makes you think so?”
“I don’t know? The fact that I’m a wizard and I’m more than a thousand years old?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I love you, Byun Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun turns his head to Chanyeol. “What did you say?”
“I love you, Byun Baekhyun.”
“I..”
“You don’t have to answer it now.”
***
Chanyeol comes to Baekhyun’s apartment one night, carrying stuff in both of his hands that he struggles to ring the door. Baekhyun’s jaw drops when he sees Chanyeol smiling like an idiot.
“Remind me again why are you here?” Baekhyun asks while taking a few things off Chanyeol’s hand and brings it inside.
“You said you wanted a movie night?” Chanyeol raises his eyebrows as he opens up the microwave to put in a popcorn bag. “So I’m here.”
Baekhyun shakes his head, hiding his smile. “I thought you were busy.”
“You know I’ll always make time for you, love.”
Baekhyun chuckles to himself as he makes his way to his fluffy couch. He takes the remote and starts choosing the movie, eyes squinting to read each title and summary. He clicks on the famous western action movie, waiting for it to load. He turns his head to look at Chanyeol who’s busy carrying the freshly popped popcorn to him. Chanyeol flops down beside him, hands circling Baekhyun’s shoulder, pulling him close as he puts the popcorn on his lap. The movie starts soon after, both of them engrossed in every act unfolding in Baekhyun’s TV screen.
“Baby,” Chanyeol calls, putting aside his popcorn halfway through the movie. “Could you pause it? I want to go to the bathroom.”
Baekhyun takes the remote and puts the movie in pause, moving away from Chanyeol’s embrace. “You can go to the one in my bedroom, Yeol.”
Chanyeol nods, his long legs taking him straight to Baekhyun’s monochrome decorated bedroom. After he finishes and washed his hands, drying it with tissues, he curiously looks around Baekhyun’s bedroom. The smaller has always been a big fan of photos, no wonder he has a lot of it displayed in his bedroom shelves. Ever since that day, Chanyeol has been secretly taking photos of Baekhyun’s cute pictures secretly, like what he’s doing right now. He takes a photo of Baekhyun wearing a sixties tuxedo, butterfly tie nicely wraps it up. He giggles, moving to the photo next to it only to discover Baekhyun was inside a hug of a tall man, looking really happy.
It stings.
Chanyeol has never seen this man before and he was never inside any of Baekhyun’s pictures in his study. Why does Baekhyun keep this in his bedroom? Who is this man?
Chanyeol pockets his phone, taking the photo to inspect it closer. The man is indeed handsome, with his defined jawline and sharp eyes. He could tell that the man has fair skin even though the old picture is in black and white. His heart picks up, he definitely doesn’t like the idea of Baekhyun inside any other man’s embrace.
“Yeol, what took you so long —”
Chanyeol turns around at the door, finding Baekhyun with his jaw drops, running at him and snatching the photo away from his hands. Baekhyun hides the photo in one of his drawers, blocking it with his body after.
“Yeol—let’s go. I’m curious about what will happen next.” Baekhyun says nervously. “C’mon. Lead the way.”
Chanyeol only stares at Baekhyun in reply, not even moving for an inch.
“Yeol?”
“Who was that?”
Baekhyun falls silent.
“Who was that, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol repeats his question, a hint of hurt was clear in his tone. “Who was that man embracing you in such a tight hug?”
“Ohh...umm” Baekhyun finds himself hard to call after his ex lover. “That was Sehun. My ex.”
Chanyeol sighs deeply, his head hangs low. “The one you told me about before?”
“Y-Yeah. It was Sehun. The past is in the past, Yeol.”
It takes a while before Chanyeol gains back his composure, lifting up his head to meet Baekhyun’s eyes and smile. “It is. What matters now is that you’re mine. So, movie?”
“Movie.” Baekhyun smiles back as he follows Chanyeol from behind.
The rest of their movie night passes by like nothing major happened, Baekhyun bids his goodbye with Chanyeol with a long, sweet kiss on his lips. After Chanyeol leaves, Baekhyun drags his feet to his bedroom, a comfortable silence surrounds him as he takes the photo he put inside the drawer, exhaling deeply. He sits on his bed, his slim finger traces along Sehun’s smiling face. Baekhyun still remembers how sweet and caring Sehun was to him, hoping that they’re each other’s happy ending, hoping that they will be able to die in each other’s embrace.
They weren’t. Baekhyun has to watch Sehun slowly withering away in his arms, his heart breaks when his heart stops beating.
“I honestly wonder, Hun,” Baekhyun softly says, his eyes glistening with tears. “Will you get your happy ending in this lifetime?”
***
On their fifth date, Chanyeol brought him to a botanical park.
“Why did you decide to open a flower shop?” Chanyeol curiously asks as he intertwines their fingers.
Baekhyun chuckles. “Because flowers are pretty? They’re pretty even if they’re dead, Chanyeol. I envy that.”
“Humans are pretty too, Baek.” Chanyeol encounters. “They are beautiful.”
“If only they didn’t produce venom as they speak.” Baekhyun clicks his tongue. “I’ve witnessed too many things unraveling before my eyes, Chanyeol. I’ve lived long enough to know that I’ve killed so many people.”
“I know. It must be hard, having to witness things like that.” Chanyeol sighs as he stopped his steps in front of a majestic looking flower dome. “But I want you to see it differently.”
“I can’t, Chanyeol. Humans speak nothing but venom. They speak highly of love, but acts like love doesn’t matter.”
“Hey.” Chanyeol softly squeezes Baekhyun’s hand as he locks his eyes with him. “I can make you see it differently. Humans are capable of loving unconditionally, too.”
“I told you, Chanyeol. I’ve lived waaaaay too long to see that they seek nothing but greed.” Baekhyun spits. “I’ve performed countless rituals and conjured so many spells to hurt other human beings. They were satisfied with it.”
Chanyeol weakly smiles at Baekhyun’s remark. He understands that the latter experiences so many painful events that he now resents human beings, but that doesn’t change the fact that Chanyeol wants Baekhyun to see that there’s something good in human nature too. He kisses Baekhyun’s knuckle.
“Okay. Just this once. On our next date, I’ll make you see it differently. If you still feel the same..” Chanyeol trails off, his eyes sincerely pleading with Baekhyun. “Then I won’t bring it up again.”
***
Chanyeol keeps his promise. On their sixth date, he decides to bring Baekhyun to a non-profit organization he’s been sponsoring for a while. A Hope for Tomorrow. Chanyeol opens Baekhyun’s side of the door and lets him get out of the car.
Baekhyun is quiet as he looks around. The center is not as big as the usual center Baekhyun finds, but it radiates positive energy. He clunches to Chanyeol’s shirt.
“What is this place?” Baekhyun asks, but his eyes never leave to scan every inch of the center.
Chanyeol moves Baekhyun’s hand from his shirt to his own palms. “This is one of the centers I sponsored, Baek. A Hope for Tomorrow. It’s a center that mainly takes care of ‘special’ children. They have developmental disabilities, and this center is a place where they can play with each other also with a hope that they will be able to re-enter society.”
Baekhyun doesn’t answer but Chanyeol knows he’s listening. “Although it’s not big, but I can promise you these kids are wonderful.”
Baekhyun lets himself be led by Chanyeol when they enter the center. A young woman greets Chanyeol immediately.
“Hello, Chanyeol-ssi. What brings you here?”
“Ah. Hello, Seojoo.” Chanyeol shakes Seojoo’s hand. “I wanted to show my boyfriend here the center.”
Baekhyun gulps when Chanyeol says that he’s his boyfriend but it also sounds good. “H-Hello. I’m Baekhyun.”
“Nice to meet you, Baekhyun-ssi!” Seojoo smiles warmly. “You can go in and look around, the kids will be having their playtime in the next ten minutes.”
Seojoo excuses herself to back watching the kids, meanwhile Chanyeol grabs his wrist and leads him somewhere. To Baekhyun’s surprise, Chanyeol leads them to a small park behind the center where they can watch the children from the window. Chanyeol gestures to Baekhyun to sit beside him and he does so.
“See those kids there?” Chanyeol points out. “They are the purest gems this world could have.”
Baekhyun’s head turns to where Chanyeol is pointing and he could clearly see pure happiness in their aura and energy. Baekhyun stays silent while observing the children. Not long after, when Baekhyun is about to ask something, a few children walk up to Chanyeol and he greets them with a hug, positioning himself to their eye level.
“Hello, Wooshik.” Chanyeol smiles, “How was your day?”
Baekhyun sees that Wooshik couldn’t keep his eye focused on Chanyeol, but he keeps silent nevertheless. “Hewwo, Chanywoli. Wooshik is good. Wooshik plays wif many toys today.”
“Wooshik, I want to introduce you to someone here.” Baekhyun comes closer as if on cue and tries his best to not look scary. “This is Baekhyun.”
“Hello, Wooshik.” Baekhyun says, patting Wooshik’s head.
“Bwaekyun.” Wooshik repeats after him. “Is pwetty. Chanywoli, can I play with Bwaekyun?”
Chanyeol chuckles. “Of course.”
Baekhyun glares at Chanyeol but he smiles reassuringly. Chanyeol whispers to Baekhyun. “It’s alright.”
Baekhyun steps and gently holds Wooshik’s hand in his, trailing along as Wooshik points out a few spots he likes, keeps talking gibberish to Baekhyun as he tries his best to understand him. As they walk, Wooshik suddenly lets go of Baekhyun’s hand and runs to one of his friends. Wooshik runs too fast that he falls over.
“Wooshik!” Baekhyun shouts in worry. He hurries to Wooshik when someone in Wooshik’s age helps Wooshik to stand up and hugs him. That scene warms Baekhyun’s heart.
“Wooshik, are you alright?” Baekhyun kneels and checks Wooshik thoroughly. “Did you get hurt?”
“Nwo, Bwaekyun.” Wooshik smiles. “Twis is Junnie. Ooshi bwest frwen.”
Junnie smiles and bows slightly to Baekhyun. “Hello.”
Baekhyun smiles.
Time flies and Baekhyun finds it really enjoyable to play with the children. His time is up when the teacher calls them back but he hugs each of them before they go back inside. Chanyeol wraps him in a back hug when Baekhyun successfully hugs all of them.
“How was it?”
“Endearing.” Baekhyun says as he places his hand on top of Chanyeol’s. “Maybe I was wrong, all along.”
Chanyeol lets a small chuckle. “I’m glad I can make you see it differently. Let’s go home. It’s going to rain.”
“Wait up.” Baekhyun holds Chanyeol. “Let’s dance in the rain. I haven’t done that in a while.”
“You’ll get sick, Baek.” Chanyeol groans. “Let’s go.”
Baekhyun nags. “Just this once, yeah?”
Chanyeol gives up and agrees. It rains quite hard when Baekhyun dances under it excitedly, squealing like a five year old. Chanyeol joins him not long after and they dance under the rain. Chanyeol puts his hand on Baekhyun's waist. They smile at each other, Baekhyun very badly wants this moment to last forever. He wants to cherish every moment he spends with Chanyeol. Baekhyun realizes then and there that maybe the thing called love does exist after all.
Baekhyun’s body started to shiver when the rain stopped a while ago. They are sitting in their drenched clothes. Chanyeol is getting their change of clothes in his car and Baekhyun hugs himself. He never shivers no matter how long he danced under the rain. Chanyeol changes his clothes first before noticing Baekhyun shivering like crazy.
“You alright?” Chanyeol kneels and takes Baekhyun’s hand in him. “You’re so cold. C’mon, we should get you changed and get back home.”
Baekhyun changes his clothes with help from Chanyeol and he lies down on Chanyeol’s passenger seat. Chanyeol already wraps him in his coat and turns on the heater but Baekhyun still feels cold. His throat suddenly feels burning, almost like years ago. Chanyeol panics and checks on Baekhyun’s temperature.
“Shit, Baek,” Chanyeol curses. “You’re burning. Let’s get you back.”
Chanyeol drives faster than he ever did and they reach Chanyeol’s apartment in ten minutes. Chanyeol is about to support Baekhyun when Baekhyun tries to stand but he loses his consciousness.
***
Baekhyun wakes up in the middle of nowhere. What happened? He scans his surroundings and all he sees is a grass field as far as the eye can see. It feels new, feels refreshing. His eyes catch two familiar people he’s been longing his entire life to see again.
“Mom..? Dad..?”
The two familiar figures walk up to him and wrap Baekhyun in a hug. “It’s been so long, right, Baekhyunnie?”
Baekhyun sobs. “I—Yes, mom.”
“I came to bear good news, baby.” His mother cooes. “Your time started flowing again.”
“W-What?”
“The curse can only be broken by someone who changes the way you see life, son.” His dad joins in. “You used a dark spell for Joseon’s sake. There were so many lives taken. It was the deities way to make you suffer. To make you search for answers.”
“Chanyeol changed the way I saw life today.” Baekhyun says, confused. “Is that why it instantly broke?”
Baekhyun’s dad put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. “No, son. The curse broke because he also taught you unconditional love. Do you remember how many times you wished that you could stay by his side? You wanted him as a constant in your life, son.”
His dad’s words linger in his head.
“So.. What happens to me now?” Baekhyun quietly asks. “I don’t want to die yet.”
His mom looks at Baekhyun fondly. “No, baby, no. It means you have to live your life wisely. You won’t be able to see more like you did in the past year. You’ll turn 26, you’ll get married, have kids and you’ll get wrinkles.”
Baekhyun couldn’t think of anyone else besides Chanyeol when he heard his mom talking like that. “M-Mom, but I won’t be able to carry—“
His mom cuts him off before Baekhyun could finish his sentence. “You are one of the blessed bearers, baby.” She pokes at Baekhyun’s belly. “This will bear half of our bloodline.”
Baekhyun rubs his eyes as he is overwhelmed by the good news he’s hearing today and he honestly can’t wait to share it with Chanyeol. “Does this mean.. my baby will be a wizard too?”
“No, Baekhyunnie.” His dad smiles at him. “Our powers aren’t needed in this world anymore. I believe your children will bear Chanyeol’s power.”
“Chanyeol’s power? What do you mean?”
“He was a healer in his past life. He was the one tending your mother and my wounds. He never complains even a bit when people are needing his care.” Baekhyun’s dad chuckles. “What a guy. He also confessed he wanted to meet you one day because apparently there is gossip around that my boy is really pretty and a powerful wizard.”
Baekhyun finds it hard to process the information, but he has to know first about something else. “Is that why he was able to avoid my spell? What about Sehun?”
“Yes, because the healer's blood is still running in his veins. Even without his real power, he’s still trying to make the world a better place. About Sehun, yeah, he was a healer too. But he wasn’t meant to break your curse because he didn’t let you see the world differently.”
“So..” Baekhyun trails off.
“We give you our blessing, if that’s what you’re wondering.” His mom elbows his dad and they both laughed. Baekhyun wraps them in a tight hug as he cries tears of joy.
“Baekhyunnie, we need to go now.” His father announces.
“O-Okay.” Baekhyun reluctantly detaches himself from his parents. “Can I see you again?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” His father says. “But we’ll be happy for you.”
Baekhyun is about to give them one last hug when they disappear into thin air, and he’s back to his world. Baekhyun pants, holding his forehead. Something sticky is there and Baekhyun’s fingers are eager to touch it.
“Don’t!” Chanyeol says. Chanyeol looks so disheveled. He rolls his shirt up to his elbow and he’s carrying a basin with a small towel hanging. Baekhyun stops touching it and stays still when Chanyeol puts down the basin then carefully peels the fever reducing patch from Baekhyun’s forehead. Chanyeol checks his temperature.
“Thank god,” Chanyeol sighs, relieved. “How are you feeling?”
“Not so great.” Baekhyun voice hoarse. He coughs up a few times and Chanyeol attentively gives him a cup of water. Baekhyun drinks from it slowly, as the water feels like a glass shard to his throat. Baekhyun hands back the cup to Chanyeol.
“I’m sorry, Baek.” Chanyeol lowers his head. “I should’ve not let you get sick. I’m so sorry.”
Baekhyun reaches for Chanyeol’s hand. “It’s okay. I was too stubborn too. You look messy.”
Chanyeol tentatively fixes his appearance. “Is it good now?”
“Here, let me help.” Baekhyun combs Chanyeol’s hair with his fingers. He smiles when he sees Chanyeol’s cheek getting red. “How long has it been since I passed out?”
“Three days, Baek. I almost admitted you to the hospital but your friend Kyungsoo and Jongdae told me to keep you at home.”
“Ah. They’re right, though. No need to fuss.” Baekhyun calmly replies. “I forgot the last time I fell sick. Was it when I was fifteen..?”
“You never got sick these whole years?” Chanyeol concerns. “Is it because of me that you get sick now?”
Baekhyun chuckles as he reaches to cup Chanyeol’s face. “Yes, apparently. You’ve broken my curse.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “I.. what?”
Baekhyun plants a small kiss on Chanyeol's forehead. “My time flows again, Chanyeol.”
Another peck on his nose bridge. “It’s all thanks to you.”
Another one on his plump lips. “I love you.”
Chanyeol doesn’t let go and brings Baekhyun to deepen their kiss. Chanyeol tasted sweet to Baekhyun.
And maybe, finally,
After hundreds of year yearning for answer;
Baekhyun could have his forever with Chanyeol.