In These Arms [mxm]

Chapter 14 - Chanyeol's POV: Passages of time

Haneul slept through the morning, quietly breathing beside me with slightly parted lips. It jarred me to see how little he had changed over the years when I'd spent them all wondering if I'd even recognize him, should we ever cross paths again. His eyebrows scrunched sometimes, and other times he'd murmur intelligible words in his sleep, but otherwise appeared restful through the night.

To see him lying beside me so vulnerable and unguarded, I was reminded that I was his chosen person. The person he trusted above everyone else, the person whose opinion he held in higher regard than anyone else, the person who held the deepest part of his heart more than anybody else; just as he had always been that person to me.

The doorbell rang, making my body tense. I glanced at my watch to read it was barely nine AM, and quickly looked back at Haneul to ensure he hadn't woken. Six hours sleep would not be sufficient rest after all that he'd endured since yesterday. I climbed out of bed as quietly as I could, placing urgency on reaching the doorbell before whoever it was decided to ring again.

"Good morning, Mr. Han," Ms. Lee bowed, one of the two receptionists who were involved with Haneul's arrest. "I recognize my mistake yesterday and have ordered a breakfast buffet to reflect my sincerest apologies."

This is why she rang my doorbell so early in the morning? She was fortunate that Haneul had managed to sleep through the sound or else my reception of her this morning might have gone enormously different. "Is that all?" I asked, folding my arms as I stared down at her. "That could have been an email."

Her eyes widened with embarrassment. "Oh, my apologies," she said, bowing again profusely. "It's just that I have it here with me now."

As she pulled the trolley into my view, I stepped aside and allowed her to bring it through the door. She appeared to look around my apartment in astonishment. Before she could remark on it, I watched her quite sternly to ensure she didn't say anything out of line. What I did with my apartment was purely related to me. She seemed to get the hint, sheepishly narrowing her lips tightly.

"Are you done?" I asked.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Han."

"Good," I said. "Now remember this: Mr. Haneul Bom should be always treated with utmost respect, even more so than me. Anybody who causes undue stress on him will see themselves out of a job very quickly."

"Nonsense," Haneul said, and I watched Ms. Lee's eyes widen at the same time Haneul's footsteps approached behind me. "I apologize for his sternness, Miss," he said with a courteous bow. I was awestruck by how lovely he looked in one of my long sleeve shirts that hung around his delicate thighs. "In fact, it relieves me to know that you have protected him so well. Thank you for putting my mind at ease."

Ms. Lee's face relaxed into a relieved smile and returned his bow. "Of course, Mr. Bom." She glanced behind him around the room, this time appearing more confident to speak her thoughts with Haneul around. "This apartment's condition doesn't look so bad even though that we haven't been able to send anyone in yet. We will confirm a time for contractors to come and make necessary repairs to this property."

"And perhaps somebody to safely dispose of the broken pieces," Haneul said. "They're packed into bags and set aside in the kitchen."

I glanced around at the floors, noticing that everything had been cleaned of the mess I'd left behind. Did Haneul clean it all before he left yesterday? The thought of him picking up glass shards pricked at my sense of guilt. What if he'd hurt himself? It'd have been my fault. He'd exerted himself even more than I'd thought yesterday. I had so much to make up for.

"Of course," she said.

It seemed that as well as his looks, his soft and compassionate heart had not changed over these years either. As he thanked Ms. Lee for the food and saw her off, I was moved by his tenderness that did not discriminate between any person nor situation. Being beside him like this felt like I had stepped into the past, back into a time that was left untouched by the cruel hands of fate.