10080 | chanbaek

이십칠

7200

During their rift, Chanyeol was often too busy to ever pay attention to Baekhyun's plans and his work. He knew Baekhyun's interests in general, but work always caused him to be too tired to care. In the afternoon, for the first time, Chanyeol sat down and listened to Baekhyun's plans.

Baekhyun moved slowly, but Chanyeol was used to his pace now. He was also use to Baekhyun occasionally forgetting things or having stalled responses. It wasn't a rare occasion for Baekhyun to rub his eyes and close them for a while. Chanyeol, trying to do what he could, would go and retrieve water whenever possible.

Papers splayed out on the living room floor. There were small papers with notes on them as well as stapled packets. Baekhyun spread them out and Chanyeol watched as he struggled to organize them the way he wanted—if that was why he kept looking frustrated and confused.

"So," Baekhyun started, "these are all my ideas and plans."

"That's a lot," Chanyeol commented, looking at the mess. "Are these the ideas you had years ago?"

"No. I threw away everything I had back then."

Chanyeol raised a brow. "Everything?"

Nodding, Baekhyun confirmed. "I threw everything away in late spring."

"Why?"

"I wanted to start over. I realized I've been writing nonsense."

"Well, nonsense is your thing, isn't it?" Chanyeol said, offering a smile.

"It is, but I wanted to try something different. That's all."

Glancing down at the words on paper, Chanyeol grinned. "Well, I'm sure it's gonna be good. Just like the rest."

Looking at Chanyeol, Baekhyun's eyes twinkled as his lips curved. "Thanks, Yeol."

"You're welcome."

After a moment, he asked, "Will you read it?"

Chanyeol blinked. "Your book?"

Nodding, Baekhyun said, "Yeah. Once it's published." Then he added, "I won't make you promise me that you'll read it, though. I already told you that this week is the last thing I'll ever ask of you..."

Feeling a heavy tug on his heart, Chanyeol lifted a hand and turned Baekhyun's face towards him. "I'll read it."

Baekhyun looked more of sad than happy, which was the complete opposite of what Chanyeol expected. Biting his lips for a second, Baekhyun nodded again. "Thanks."

"No problem."

When Baekhyun paused for a second to close his eyes and take in deep breaths, Chanyeol looked at him with a concerned face. "Headache?"

"Yes..." Baekhyun said weakly. "Headache."

________________________________________

8640

Chanyeol looked at his phone and saw Kyungsoo's text messages. He answered them briefly and curtly before turning his cellphone off again. When he went to the kitchen, he found Luna alone, which was what he needed. Tapping her on the shoulder, Chanyeol stepped back instinctively when she turned around with a knife in her hand.

"Oh," she said. "Hi, Chanyeol."

"Hi." Chanyeol fixed his posture for a second and fixed his shirt, which he was pretty sure was from his college days. "I wanted to ask you for a favor."

Luna looked at him. "What kind of favor?" she asked, cautiously.

"Can you make Baekhyun's favorite food tonight? And do you have any wine?" he asked.

"Wine..."

"To accompany the dinner," he justified.

"I think Baekhyun would be better off with water, Chanyeol..." Luna mumbled.

Chanyeol was taken aback for a moment, but then he nodded understandingly. "Alright. No wine. But can you make the food?"

Setting the knife down on the counter, Luna crossed her arms. "What're you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to give him a nice dinner."

"Why?"

"It's my last night here."

With thin lips, Luna sighed. "Chanyeol, don't. You're not doing anything good for him by doing this. You know that this is only going to hurt him right? You're going the extra mile for him for one night, but you're leaving him the next day. I know you're just being nice, but this is really cruel."

Chanyeol's jaw locked. He didn't know what to say. "But I want to do this. Not to hurt him, but rather, to make up for everything."

"What's there to make up for when all you're going to do is leave him for another person the next day?"

Taking a step back, Chanyeol felt a panging in his chest. It was true. It was the cold hearted truth. Tomorrow he was going to leave the house with those signed papers, never to look back. He'd be leaving Baekhyun behind with nothing, but the house and some money. It felt horrible because for the last few days, he had been escaping the reality. Now, the night before he had to leave, Chanyeol didn't know how to deal with it anymore.

Swallowing, Chanyeol tried. "Luna, it's for one night. Please."

Luna stared hard at him before turning back. "Fine."

Chanyeol wanted to sigh in relief. "Thank you."

After a few seconds, Luna asked, "Do you still love him?"

"What kind of question is that?" Chanyeol muttered, unsure of the answer.

"It's a reasonable question."

Thinking, Chanyeol realized that he didn't know. He felt conflicted. The word "home" no longer had a definite meaning. The days he spent in the house felt warmer to him than the apartment that he had been living in for years. Baekhyun's laugh seemed to soak him pleasantly in its sound whereas Kyungsoo's laugh seemed like a mere replica that tried to affect him the same way Baekhyun's did. His eyes were more tired than Chanyeol had ever seen them, but in the recent days, despite how faded Baekhyun's eyes had gotten, Chanyeol could see the fire that was once there.

There should have been no hesitation for his heart knew the answer, but his head—the master of all his thoughts and actions—intercepted the confident answer from his heart and distorted it, leaving Chanyeol speechless and confused. His heart said yes, but his head flashed him the image of Kyungsoo.

After waiting for minutes and still not getting an answer, Luna shrugged it off. "Never mind that I asked. I'll cook for you tonight. Make him happy, even if it's just for the night."