“Kris, may I speak to you?”
He pushed open the door of the office, and saw Kris look up from his computer, a look of pure terror on his face. “Please don’t quit!” he blurted out.
Baekhyun stepped in and closed the door, bewildered. “I’m…not going to,” he said, uncertain. Kris relaxed visibly.
“Thank god. Himchan said the exact same thing to me just before he handed in his two weeks’ notice.” Kris gestured to one of the seats in front of the desk. “So, what’s up?”
Baekhyun perched on the edge of the seat, unaccountably nervous. “I’m not going to quit,” he said again. “But… um.” It was harder than he thought it was going to be. In his mind, he’d just waltzed in, announced that he couldn’t work with Chanyeol anymore, and Kris had either acceded or handed him his walking papers. “I’m just… I can’t… with Chanyeol. Anymore.”
Kris stared blankly at him for a long moment. Comprehension dawned. “I see,” he said, neutral. “But you don’t want to leave?”
Baekhyun shook his head furiously. “Not at all. I love working here, and not just because…” he blushed to the roots of his hair. Kris smiled knowingly.
“Chen’s going out of town for a month starting tomorrow,” Kris said. “How do you feel about working with Kai while he’s gone?”
Baekhyun shifted awkwardly. “I don’t mind,” he said, and wondered what new sort of disaster this was going to become.
Kris sat back and studied him. “It’s not a crime, you know.”
Baekhyun’s fading blush came roaring back to life. Even the tips of his ears felt hot. “Um,” he said. “I – know. It’s just… awkward.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“You’re not going to fire me?”
“Absolutely not! You and Chanyeol have chemistry, on-screen and off. It’s why I hired you in the first place,” Kris said, matter-of-factly. “But I also can imagine… it would be hard, for me too,” he said. “If Tao didn’t feel the same, I would stop wanting to be with him as well.” Kris’s voice dropped, comforting. “I hope it doesn’t have to become permanent, but if it’s a choice between shaking you guys up or losing you entirely, I’d rather shake everyone up.”
Baekhyun was inordinately touched by Kris’s concern. “It’s a personal problem,” he said, wanting to reassure Kris. “I’ll… I think I just need some distance. We can try again when Chen comes back.”
Kris tapped a few notes onto his computer, and nodded. “If you’re sure.”
Baekhyun rose and bowed to him. “Thank you,” he said. Kris waved him off.
“Send Kai in here if you can find him,” he asked. Baekhyun bowed again, unwontedly formal, and slipped back out the door. He found Kai easily, in the break room with the others.
“Kris needs you,” he said, and flushed when Kai looked at him. The lithe man rose gracefully to his feet and padded out. Baekhyun took the seat he’d vacated, and then regretted it when he realised his proximity to Chanyeol.
“You look flushed,” the taller man said, and felt his forehead. “Are you getting sick?”
His blush powered up once more at Chanyeol’s innocent touch. “I’m not sick,” he said, and pulled away. Chanyeol eyed him suspiciously, but then Kai reappeared in the door.
“Chanyeol,” he called. “Kris wants to talk to you now.”
Chanyeol looked between Baekhyun, who averted his gaze, and Kai, who was impassive. “Oookay,” he said, stretching the word out. “What’s going on?”
