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The apartment Chanyeol walked him through was clean. A little too clean, like a professional cleaning lady came through once a week kind of clean. Baekhyun was wrong though. It was every other day because a single father like Chanyeol had no time for housekeeping, not with his fourteen hour work days. He barely even had time for his eight-year-old son, other than spending a few minutes walking Baekhyun, the new babysitter, through their apartment showing him where he kept the address book. Baekhyun noted the numbers for the pizza place, the Chinese food place, pediatrician, grandparents who lived across town, and a hastily scribbled name that Chanyeol listed as ‘Jongin’s school counselor’. He didn’t ask why an eight-year-old was receiving so much attention from a counselor.
The numbers though became the first entry in Baekhyun’s WISHES, a stupid purple notebook in which he kept important information, like the number of Jongin’s pediatrician, school counselor, and oh—all of Chanyeol’s many work numbers because his neighbor forgot to mention his own contact information until after Baekhyun had to ask for it.
“Just in case you know… there’s an emergency and I need to contact you…?”
Sehun had given him the notebook, a gag gift for his last birthday, although maybe it should be considered more of a consolation gift. His boyfriend had somehow managed to forget his birthday. Baekhyun saw the same notebook with cartoon animals printed upon the cover in all different colors at the convenience store around the block. Why Sehun bought him the purple one, Baekhyun never bothered to ask.
“Is there anything else you need to know?” Chanyeol probably didn’t mean to sound so intimidating. He was oddly good looking for a man in his mid-thirties. Short ruffled hair, and a suit that fit him immaculately, he towered over the babysitter, and Baekhyun tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I think that’s about it,” he responded.
“Good.” Chanyeol ran a hand through his hair and on any other parent Baekhyun might have thought it was anxiety that made his temples pulse or cause him to fidget with his tie and collar. He was about to leave his kid in the near full-time care of a stranger, albeit a neighbor stranger. Except Baekhyun knew it wasn’t him Chanyeol was nervous about. It was because time was ticking and he needed to be going. “Glad you could do this on short notice. Alright, thank you,” he spoke rapidly, already moving towards the door.
“Yeah, no problem,” said Baekhyun, and before Chanyeol could dismiss him completely he thought of one more thing. “Wait. I just... Is there… Does Jongin have…”
At some point in the future Baekhyun would think stupidly back to that moment like it was the start of a new kind of fate. That hearing Chanyeol’s answer was the turning point on which he could dwell on, the moment when Baekhyun’s life began to turn. He didn’t realize then, or even later, that lives do indeed turn, but sometimes they turn you full circle and come back to where you started.
It also inspired the second thing Baekhyun wrote in the purple notebook with the unicorn drawing and large italic letters spelling out something less exciting than Baekhyun’s actual WISHES.
Too bad Jongin doesn’t have two parents…
“Jongin doesn’t have a mom,” Chanyeol had lamely retorted in response to Baekhyun’s question.
Really, he only wanted to know in case during the hours he was babysitting if some psycho ex-wife might drop by and chew him out for Chanyeol’s lack of real parenting.
“He did… have two dads. But that’s long over. I doubt he’ll be around. I have to run now. Call or text me if there’s anything else you need to know.”
And in a flash Chanyeol was ushering him out of his apartment, only his shapely profile visible as he disappeared around the corner of the hallway, and Baekhyun went back to his apartment several doors down to bum around until it was time to pick Jongin up from school. He had two months left until his post-undergrad school internship began, plenty of time to earn a few bucks getting some hands-on practical instruction on parenting. Just what his twenty-one-year-old self needed.
Nowhere among his WISHES did Baekhyun ask for his life to be turned upside down.
Things didn’t become hectic quite so soon. Baekhyun’s schedule and social life was more or less disrupted, but it wasn’t because anything crazy really happened, not at first. Jongin was a decent kid, which is to say he was mildly sullen, unsociable, and silent to a fault. Baekhyun found it a boring job, but then Jongin was eight, he didn’t pull pranks, and he didn’t seem to want to blow shit up, so Baekhyun couldn’t really complain. They greeted each other each afternoon with lazy Hellos, Jongin would glance at him through his too long bangs, and then stare at the dash of Baekhyun’s beat up old car for the rest of the drive home, Jongin’s soccer bag and smelly shoes shoved on the floor on top of his backpack.
After that there was a daily battle that neither one of them cared to pursue about whether Jongin should do his homework or sleep, and usually he slept while Baekhyun entertained himself watching Chanyeol’s nicer TV while playing on his phone.
Note to self: download more interesting games or buy a laptop, else I will die of boredom.
“You sound like one of the lamest babysitters ever,” said Sehun one time to him after Baekhyun didn’t arrive at his boyfriend's house until close to eleven. Chanyeol hadn’t even gotten home until 10:30 pm.
“Yeah, well what else am I supposed to do? Tutor him in math and English? From what I can tell, he’s actually kind of smart. He just doesn’t like to do anything except sleep or play video games,” Baekhyun complained while he kicked off his shoes and tore off his jacket, and his shirt too because why the hell not. He’d just spent five days back-to-back hanging out with a lonely eight-year-old whose dad didn’t love him enough to actually cut back from his schedule. That was five days and at least five hours each day, so he approximated that as twenty-five hours that he, Baekhyun, a healthy college grad, wasn’t getting to spend boning his boyfriend.
“Five days and twenty-five fucking hours… at least I’m getting paid to do nothing,” he complained out loud for good measure, hands on his belt buckle because every time Sehun tried do that step for him, he pulled too hard and nearly gave Baekhyun belt burn.
“Someone’s grouchy today…” Sehun sing-songed as he stripped himself as well. “Hey, have you seen enough adults lately that you still know how this whole thing works?” he taunted, cupping Baekhyun through his boxers.
“Just shut up and fuck me, please?” he quipped, not sounding cute in his own mind. Sehun, however, chortled and proceeded to do just that, during which time he related all the other things Baekhyun could be doing—and/or not getting—for stress relief.
Someday, find me a boyfriend who talks less shit in bed, pretty please?
Baekhyun wasn’t really talking to a stupid purple book, not really. But then, who else did he have to talk to? At least it was more than Jongin had, or possibly Jongin’s dad.
Baekhyun didn’t see too much of Chanyeol over the first week. Jongin rode the bus to school in the mornings, and so Baekhyun only had to pick him up after soccer practice. Then Chanyeol came home late from work and they barely spoke more than a couple sentences to each other. Either way, Baekhyun never really cared for the kinds of interaction they did have. They were neighbors, perhaps fifteen years removed, but Baekhyun was no high-schooler out for a summer job to be dismissed so lightly at the end of the day. He took vague offense to the way Chanyeol passed him a folded-up check without saying anything, like the fact that Baekhyun received money this way made him somehow less of a man, less worthwhile. Meanwhile Chanyeol probably made a six figure salary with all the hours he put in, and by direct deposit too probably. There’d be no unwrinkling of checks and careful counting on his deposit slip at the bank once every few days when Baekhyun could be bothered to wake up in the morning and do it.
Dear purple unicorn notebook, one day I’m going to make so much money. Or else just a lot of cash.
On Tuesday of the second week, Jongin came out to Baekhyun’s car and rapped lightly against the glass of the drivers’ side window, another boy behind him. Jongin, it turned out, wasn’t quite as antisocial as Baekhyun had thought. His friend’s name was Kyungsoo and he looked a bit scary, but Baekhyun figured eight-year-olds couldn’t possibly have learned to do murder yet, and since he came with a note saying he was allowed to go home with Jongin (not that Kyungsoo’s parents had gotten this approved with Jongin’s chauffeur-babysitter), he consented and took them home.
The boys played well together - video games mostly - but it was nice to see the kid getting actual interaction, even if it was more peer-directed and not from a parent. He drove them home at the end of the day, following Kyungsoo’s directions to an apartment building several blocks away, and because Baekhyun felt generous he parked the car and walked both of the boys up three flights of stairs.
Kyungsoo’s mom opened the door, cries of, “Oh. Hello, Jongin!” and “You’re getting taller.” Then she paused and looked at Baekhyun.
He smiled what he hoped was a pleasant, ‘Excuse me, I’m just the babysitter,’ expression. Evidently it didn’t work.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t met you before.” She held out a hand which Baekhyun politely shook.
“Baekhyun, ma’am. My name is Baekhyun.”
“I see. Well, thank you. Are you… you must be… Mr. Park’s new boyfriend?”
He dropped her hand in a hurry, denial on his lips and possible horror on his face from the misunderstanding. Fortunately Jongin corrected her with a frown and there was an accompanying chuckle from Kyungsoo behind his mother’s back. Baekhyun decided he liked that kid a little bit less now.
If I ever have kids, can I never have boys? I want only girls because they’re probably less evil. Probably. Actually I have no idea.
By rare occurrence, Chanyeol was actually home before they got home. He didn’t even seem all that worried to find no child and no babysitter in his apartment. He listened to Baekhyun’s explanation glumly and begged solemnly for a hug from Jongin. His son merely hugged him dutifully around the middle and then wandered off down the hall to his bedroom, clearly done socializing for the night. Baekhyun almost felt sorry for Chanyeol; he did actually when he caught the man frowning.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d be home so soon or I would have left a note,” Baekhyun began an apology he wasn’t sure was even necessary. “Actually, I never even asked if I was allowed to take Jongin anywhere by myself…”
“No, that’s okay. You can do what you need to.” Chanyeol ran a hand through his hair, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but think he was a very attractive man, or at least he would be if he lightened up a little. Despite getting home early, he hadn’t done much except throw his briefcase across the counter and his wallet beside it, and he’d halfway poked around a leftover container of fried rice that Baekhyun had cooked earlier for the boys.
Baekhyun wondered, not for the first time, who took care of Jongin before he came along? Or for that matter, who took care of Chanyeol? Other babysitters? A relative, estranged cousin, or friend? Perhaps one of Chanyeol’s old boyfriends, to borrow Kyungsoo’s mother’s comparison.
“I wanted to ask…” Baekhyun started, the question on the tip of his tongue. Chanyeol turned to him, almost intrigued that Baekhyun was still in the room, like he’d already forgotten his presence.
“Yes?”
But Baekhyun faltered. “I wanted to ask, do you mind if I have Jongin over at my house a couple evenings this week? It’s just, I kind of cook better in my own kitchen, and it’s just a couple doors down.” It was a lame excuse for not wanting to sit on Chanyeol’s bland, uncomfortable sofa every day of the week, but Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind.
“Whatever works for you.”
He had Sehun over a few of those nights, and after the first few days where Baekhyun had to constantly remind his boyfriend to keep his hands to himself—and out of Baekhyun’s pants—whenever Jongin was in the room, then maybe it wasn’t surprising when Sehun came over less the following week.
On their own though, Baekhyun and Jongin got along better. Baekhyun felt cozier in his own apartment so he put more energy into talking to him, and also Jongin didn’t have a bedroom to disappear into. He played on Baekhyun’s video game consoles, did his homework at the dining table, and once Baekhyun even took him after school to get his hair trimmed because after two weekends of being home, Chanyeol still hadn’t dealt with it. The kid could barely see out of his eyes, his bangs were so long. In the evenings he watched him skip down the hall around the hour when Chanyeol would get home and that was that.
So it was strange when one Saturday afternoon, Baekhyun’s free day, that Chanyeol actually knocked on his door.
He didn’t even hear it the first time. Sehun was over and being needy as hell with his hands under Baekhyun’s shirt and his mouth on his neck. Baekhyun felt teeth beginning to graze there when the first knock came, and even though he moved to answer it, Sehun kept him framed against the couch.
“Shhh, it’s probably just your landlord or something. Can’t you check and see what recycling rule you’ve broken later?” Sehun puffed into his ear, and Baekhyun moaned to agree.
Then came the second set of knocks, and this time he didn’t try to budge, consenting to wait out whoever was outside while Sehun hummed his approval, occupied as he was with marking Baekhyun’s skin.
Not even the third set of knocks would have done it, except for the subsequent shout from beyond the door. ”Baekhyun!? Are you home!?! Is Jongin with you!?” followed by a more insistent pounding.
Baekhyun whined, pulling his head back even though Sehun didn’t want him to.
“Get up. Sehun, get up.”
“Why?” his boyfriend whined. “Isn’t that just your neighbor?”
“Yeah.”
“But why, when you aren’t hiding his kid in here?”
He had to push Sehun to make him move. “That’s kind of the point. Hang on and let me see what’s up.”
Chanyeol was halfway back down the hall when Baekhyun poked his head out, but Baekhyun didn’t miss the way his head spun around hopefully when he heard the door open. For once, Chanyeol was actually acting like a concerned parent. It would have been cute except how the man obviously had no idea where his son was.
“Baekhyun?!” he cried happily, rushing back to the door.
“Yeah?”
“Is… where is…” Chanyeol suddenly hesitated, and Baekhyun knew why. The arms wringing around his waist—Sehun’s obviously—had thrown him into a blank.
“You don’t know where Jongin is?” Baekhyun asked, for all the world pretending like he didn’t have a possessive koala hanging onto his back, nose buried once more into his neck. He tried to shake him off but it took him doing it twice, including one elbow into Sehun’s ribs, for his boyfriend to comply.
“I’m… I don’t… I guess he’s not with you,” said Chanyeol lamely, and Baekhyun saw how his gaze went back and forth from Baekhyun’s eyes to Sehun's, and who knew what kind of murderous look Sehun must be giving him right now for interrupting their together-time. It was childish really, and not entirely amusing to Baekhyun.
“He’s not…” he started to say, disturbed once more by a prying hand. “Sehun give me a sec, please?” He didn’t mean to snarl, but at least it did the trick. His boyfriend retreated in a huff and actually dared to close the door on him, his own apartment.
“He had a soccer tournament today. You didn’t know?”
Chanyeol’s jaw actually dropped. Baekhyun assumed it must be because no, he hadn’t known, but his face was actually focused on the slammed door behind him.
“He didn’t tell you, did he?” Baekhyun continued, finally drawing Chanyeol’s attention back to the discussion on hand. “Kyungsoo’s mom was going to pick them up earlier?”
“I… didn’t know… He just, wasn’t home all of a sudden. Kyungsoo… Uhh, do you know what his mom’s number is?”
Note to Chanyeol, possibly should make him a notebook with all of his son’s scheduled activities, as well as the names of his friends, friends’ parents, and friends’ parents’ cell and home numbers. Potentially addresses too.
Baekhyun did have her number listed somewhere in Chanyeol’s kitchen and so, ignoring Sehun inside his apartment and against Chanyeol’s protests that he didn’t need to come back with him, he did so anyways, terribly conscious of how his hair was kind of messy, how his shirt had stretch marks on it, and how his neck was probably blossoming red.
Also, don’t try to have sex on the weekends because who knows when the neighbor is going to lose his kid.
“Don't you think you're doing too much for that stupid, neighbor guy?” Sehun complained to him Sunday night when Baekhyun actually did sit down to write out the upcoming dates for Jongin's special practices and tournaments. On the top of the list he included Jongin's birthday—two weeks away—just in case Chanyeol was the type of dad to forget that too. Maybe he should write down Jongin's favorite color?
Baekhyun sighed. His boyfriend's complaints were growing more dramatic by the day, and Baekhyun was beginning to lose patience.
“Would you just chill for a bit, Sehun? God! Look it's not Jongin's fault he spends all his day either at school or with a babysitter. Somebody at least needs to know what and where he's supposed to be, and if it's not going to be Chanyeol, then it's going to have to be me. At the very least, let me try to keep the man informed!”
Sehun only huffed, reclining against the couch next to Baekhyun who was hunched over the coffee table copying dates and numbers down on a few scraps of paper torn from the back of his purple unicorn notebook. Inside on the lined paper there was a tiny little purple unicorn drawing as well. It was kind of cute. Maybe if Baekhyun stuck it on Chanyeol's fridge with a magnet it wouldn't go unnoticed?
“When did you become such a mom?” Sehun was evidently determined to piss him off tonight.
“I don't know. Probably around the time I started dating you.”
On Monday night, he and Jongin were so engrossed watching a cartoon movie that they lost track of the time. For the second time Chanyeol came to knock on his door, looking for his kid. At least this time he had a better reason to come by, and Baekhyun quickly apologized for forgetting to send him home on time.
Chanyeol looked awkward standing in the doorway, and so he begged him come inside while Jongin ran around picking up his stuff.
“Sorry, I should have had him pack his school stuff earlier,” Baekhyun apologized again.
Chanyeol's eyes were wide, watching his son pick up things that were scattered all over Baekhyun's apartment. Several textbooks on the table, another one on the couch, a few under the coffee table, and even bag of clean, folded soccer practice clothes which had actually been left there over the weekend because they were so stained Baekhyun worried the Park's housekeeper wouldn't do a good enough job of cleaning them.
“Did you...” Chanyeol hesitated as he picked up the bag, obviously recognizing the clothes were not folded as normal. He looked almost sad when Baekhyun blushed and said, “Yeah, I did...”
“I think that's all my stuff, dad,” Jongin interrupted them then, already prancing out the door. “See you tomorrow, Baekhyun!”
“Bye, Jonginnie. Hey, don't forget to tell Kyungsoo, if he wants to come over Wednesday then he needs bring his project so you guys can work on it together, okay?”
“Okay!” called the boy, already down the hall.
Only Chanyeol remained, frozen as it were and still holding the bag of clean laundry. In fact, he hadn't budged at all for a few minutes except to swivel his head around following Jongin's movements, and now that his son had left he remained at a loss. The front door reverted shut on its own, and Baekhyun felt the silence in his apartment like a slap on the face. Why was the man still here? He didn't want to be rude and tell him point blank to go home, but Baekhyun had been busy all day. He was kind of looking forward to getting some alone time, finally.
“Mr. Park, are you alright?”
“What?” The older man looked almost shocked that he was being spoken to, and there was something pitiful about him that had Baekhyun lightening his heart just a bit.
“Do you want some water or something?” Because Chanyeol looked kind of parched, and at the suggestion he ran a tongue across his lips and stared at Baekhyun more directly. He shook his head, but Baekhyun pulled out a cup, ran it under the filtered water faucet, and Chanyeol didn't reject it when it was shoved right under his nose. In fact he gulped half of it down like a shot, inhaled deeply and gulped down the rest. Then he swayed on his feet and Baekhyun immediately grabbed him by the arm.
“Hey! Uhmm.... sit! Here, take a seat,” Baekhyun panicked internally and lead the man to a stool by the kitchen counter. “Are you alright?”
This was certainly a new experience. Having a grown man look like he might pass out in his apartment, essentially a stranger too, although it was kind of ridiculous how they knew next to nothing about each other.
“I think I'm okay... Just tired,” Chanyeol finally recovered enough to say. “S-Sorry about that.”
“Hey, no problem.” Because he had no idea what he was doing, Baekhyun tried to make light of the situation. “You sure you aren't working too much? Maybe you should take a day off, hm?” He smiled, although Chanyeol did not smile back. Sitting down he was finally level with Baekhyun's height, and that was disconcerting already, being able to stare directly into the man's eyes. Baekhyun felt compelled to look away, because the look he was getting in return was just a bit... startling. Like Baekhyun was a saving grace and not just the babysitter.
Chanyeol must have realized he was being rude, and so he averted his eyes. “Sorry,” he said again sadly. “I'm just... I realize every day that, well... that I'm kind of a horrible dad. You know more about my son's life than I do.”
Baekhyun couldn't argue with that, and so he said nothing.
“I saw the note paper on the fridge. Thanks for that. I promise I won't suddenly forget Jongin's schedule again like I did this weekend.”
If this was a pity party, then Baekhyun had no idea how to get the man out of it. “It's no problem. He probably just forgot to tell you he was going out.”
“Yeah, but... that means he probably figured I had forgotten already.” He sighed, eyes still downcast and mouth hanging open partway. The water cup was still clutched within his hand and he squeezed the plastic so hard that Baekhyun reached for it and gently nudged it out of the man's palm. Chanyeol relinquished it quickly when their fingers accidentally touched.
“Anyways, thank you,” he said, glancing up at Baekhyun's face again, a little shyer this time. “And... sorry for bothering you on Saturday.”
Baekhyun smirked lightly, trying to put him at ease. “Yeah, don't worry about it.”
“Was that your boyfriend?”
“Yep,” said Baekhyun. “He's a brat.”
Chanyeol actually smiled, and Baekhyun kind of didn't want to admit how the man's sudden smile did something to him. It was startling, both the smile and Baekhyun's reaction. Neither of them followed up on that topic though. Instead, Chanyeol allowed his smile to drop naturally after a moment and then he cleared his throat and stood up, thanked Baekhyun for the water and headed for the door.
“Goodnight. And... uhm. I think I'm going to take Friday afternoon off, so... I'll pick up Jongin from school and you don't have to worry about it. Is that alright?”
“Sure!” Baekhyun grinned back at him, happy to see him taking some initiative to spend time with his son.
But mid-afternoon the next Friday, Baekhyun got a rushed phone call from Chanyeol apologizing endlessly once again about how something at work was tying him up and could Baekhyun please watch Jongin today after all? The disappointment on Jongin's face when he climbed into Baekhyun's car was enough to make Baekhyun's stomach nearly revolt right then and there, and for the first time Baekhyun wished he had been either Chanyeol's boyfriend or significant other, or even Jongin's dad, so that he'd have the right to chew the man out for neglecting his family.
Baekhyun finally met Jongin's school counselor on Monday, a lovely man, Yixing, who introduced himself to Baekhyun on a first name basis when Baekhyun rushed into the school offices. He'd gotten a call about Jongin nearly getting into a fight and had no idea what had happened or why they called him.
“I apologize. We tried to call Jongin's father. His secretary said he couldn't be reached at the moment, and she gave us your number instead. Are you a relative or... significant other?” Yixing asked a very shocked looking Baekhyun.
Baekhyun almost laughed. After all that he did, he considered himself pretty significant but, “No. I'm just a... family friend.”
It wasn't the first time Jongin had ended up in the counselor's office, Baekhyun quickly learned. Usually though it wasn't for getting into fights but because the kid had gone through some serious bouts of depression within the past year. He and Yixing had grown close by virtue of Yixing being the only adult male Jongin felt he could turn to when his two dads split up. Baekhyun didn't get the full story, but watching through the glass window as Jongin wiped away snot, and listening to Yixing's explanation of events, it was enough: bullies who nagged Jongin for not having a mom and half the time for having no dad. Jongin had finally snapped and he had a darkening bruise above his eyebrow to show for it. Baekhyun did not ask what the other kid looked like, but promised to have Jongin's real dad come in this week or sometime and talk to Yixing personally. Then he loaded his one-day-suspended student into the car and took him home. It was a good thing Baekhyun had nothing to do tomorrow, because now it looked like he'd be babysitting all day.
“What do you do during the summer when you don't have school?” Baekhyun spoke to him during the drive, because he was afraid of mentioning the fight.
“I stay with my grandparents most of the time,” Jongin replied in a soft voice.
“Oh, yeah? They live across town don't they? Are they nice?” Baekhyun smiled at him between breaks in traffic.
“No.”
So much for finding a safer topic of discussion. Before he could ask or not ask though, Jongin continued. “They don't like my dad, and so they say mean things about him. I don't like that.”
“They talk about their son like that?!”
“No. No, they're my other dad's parents. But he only comes home once or twice a year, and they blame my dad for that.”
It was eerie how Jongin had been forced to choose, stranger still that he took Chanyeol's side of things, given the circumstances. Then again, at least Jongin saw Chanyeol every day. Yixing had mentioned Jongin's parents separating about four years ago. That was plenty of time for the boy to grow up basically remembering only one dad.
“Was it just babysitters who watched you, other than your grandparents?” Baekhyun knew he should be treading lightly, however, his curiosity was too great.
“Sometimes. And sometime my dad dated other guys and they stayed home with me. But none of them stayed for long. I like you the best anyways.”
Babysitter or dad's boyfriend: maybe to Jongin they weren't all that dissimilar.
When Chanyeol came home that evening it was like a man sneaking terrified into his own home. Jongin had gone to bed early, and Baekhyun waited in Chanyeol's apartment surfing through television stations until the door knob turned. He left the TV on mute and stood up, immediately fetching his phone and wallet from the couch cushion next to him.
“Your son is suspended for one day tomorrow,” he whispered across the room and Chanyeol's eyes lit up. “Have him knock on my door whenever you want to leave for work, unless you know of some other arrangement. I'm... going now—”
“W-wait, so... wait. They said he got into a fight or something? I only got the school's and your message late, I'm sorry. But what happened?”
Baekhyun sighed loudly. “Mr. Park—”
“Chanyeol. Please call me Chanyeol.”
Baekhyun tossed his head. “Chanyeol,” he amended. “Jongin went to bed already but he's probably not asleep. Why don't you try talking to him instead of me? He's your son... goodnight.”
Close to an hour later, Baekhyun heard a knock on his door. He was in the middle of the kitchen chugging a beer all by himself, and the clock on the oven read 11:30 pm. There was almost no chance the visitor wasn't his single dad of a neighbor. His left his drink on the counter, opened the door to let the man in, and then begged him to wait for a moment while Baekhyun strolled back to his bedroom to actually put on a shirt and some pants.
Chanyeol hovered strangely over Baekhyun's kitchen counter when he came back in, eyes on the half empty beer. Baekhyun almost offered him a full one, but then he changed his mind. Chanyeol has no need for alcohol; he had no right to try to drown away his problems.
“What's up?” he asked him casually instead.
Chanyeol looked nervous, almost penitent. “I came to... apologize you.”
“What for?”
“For being a really awful parent?”
Baekhyun smirked, because hadn't they had this conversation before? Not even a week ago in fact. Any number of rebuttals flitted through Baekhyun's mind. Angry words like, 'Good thing I'm not your son,' and 'Yeah, in fact you are.' Also was the reminder that technically this had nothing to do with Baekhyun, a paid employee. He looked after Jongin a lot, so much that he ached for the kid to be happy, but there was a limit to what Baekhyun could actually do. Scolding the father was first on that list of things Baekhyun shouldn't do. And yet...
“Did you talk to Jongin?”
“Yeah. He cried a little.”
“He did that off and on most of the evening,” Baekhyun confirmed coldly.
Chanyeol hung his head defeated, and Baekhyun almost took pity on him. Instead he swiped his beer off the counter, took another gulp, and observed lazily how miserable his neighbor was looking. Sad and broken, and even through that he couldn't quite lose his good looks. It was probably unfair. Chanyeol had changed out of his work shirt only. He still wore his white undershirt, wrinkled trousers from a long day in the office, no belt and his feet were bare except for the slippers he'd worn down the hall.
“I'm sorry,” he said again, not meeting Baekhyun's eyes, else he might have seen how Baekhyun was looking at him, all pissy but ever appreciative of how well made Chanyeol actually was. “You really do a lot for us.”
“Huh?” That snapped Baekhyun out of his reverie.
“I mean, you're pretty much the best babysitter Jongin has ever had, and I hate that I know this, because then I still call you up and make you deal with things. Things I'm supposed to be responsible for. I wanted to thank you... I really, I'll try to be better in the future.”
“Do you plan to accomplish that by shuffling him off to his grandparents' house over the summer?” Baekhyun couldn't hold back his words.
“What?” Chanyeol looked up, shocked at the words.
“Yeah, Jongin told me all about that. Does he tell you how much he hates it there?” By Chanyeol's expression, Baekhyun guessed probably not. “How they scold him for every little thing he does, from not combing his hair the right way, to standing up for you, his dad, every time they say mean things about you?”
“They- they talk to him about stuff like that?!” Chanyeol seemed to shrink, even has he stood tall.
“Yep. Bet you didn't know that. Bet there's a lot of things you don't know. Does he talk to you about anything? Do you even give him a chance to? Geez, Chanyeol, you don't even know what your ex's family is doing behind your back, and to your own kid. Nice way to raise a son.” He was rendering Chanyeol speechless, but for some reason the words just continued to flow.
“I was thinking about resigning as your babysitter,” Baekhyun spat.
“You are, or you were?” Chanyeol's eyes looked alarmed, but Baekhyun paid him no mind.
“I wasn't even going to give you two weeks’ notice. My plan was to just quit, and then maybe it would force you step up and deal with things on your own.”
“So, you aren't resigning.”
Baekhyun's eyebrows flared. “Is that all you actually care about!? Whether or not your son has a babysitter, because if you want to know the real reason I'm not going to leave your son sitting on his ass at home tomorrow, it's because I'm not positive you won't go and hire somebody else who cares less about him than me!”
He'd finally gone ahead and done it. Said everything he meant, and Chanyeol was this time well and truly speechless. He was starting to sweat a little bit around the nape, not that Baekhyun really wanted to notice this. The man was taller than him, but now he seemed tiny, and his balance was beginning to falter. Baekhyun nudged the stool next to him with his foot, scraping it against the floor loud enough so that Chanyeol would see it and sit down. He did, even as Baekhyun cooled his thoughts and walked around him to his fridge, not to get another beer, but to pull out a bottle of water for Chanyeol to drink.
“Here. You look like you need it.”
Chanyeol took it with a barely whispered, “T-Thanks.”
Baekhyun leaned against the counter next him, enjoying being the same height for a change. Now that he yelled at the man though, he was starting to feel bad. Just not enough to shut up. He didn't raise his voice this time, just speaking casually.
“You work a million and one hours, Chanyeol. What's even the point? You probably have no social life except on the weekends, which you don't use to catch up with Jongin's life, not enough at least. Are you gonna keep hiring babysitters for the rest of his life? Get married, at least. Hire a wife you don't have to see, and then he won't be so alone. Shit, marry me. Then you don't have to pay me from your bank balance, I just can just go on a nice shopping spree with your credit card, skip the transfer fee, and we'll all be happier.”
Chanyeol choked, although it may have been more of a laugh since Baekhyun was trying to keep this light. He huffed, wiping away a loose tear from his eye, and said, “What about your boyfriend?”
“I can dump him! He's kind of a shitty boyfriend anyways,” Baekhyun laughed.
Whatever his joke did, it cleared the air some. Enough for Baekhyun to calm down and not say anything else scathing, enough for Chanyeol to fall into a lumbering silence and both of them stared at the floor for a minute. Baekhyun finished his beer, trashed it, and then reached for a second bottle of water. His head was starting to pound, knowing he'd probably regret most of this tomorrow. On the other hand, he was glad he said it. Even if Chanyeol decided to fire him after all.
“I've already called in sick to work tomorrow,” the man suddenly admitted. Baekhyun swallowed his gulp of water all wrong.
“You... did?”
“Yeah. Told Jongin too. I think we'll take a day trip. Drive around somewhere, just to get away. That's...” Chanyeol choked back a laugh, “Kind of why I came over, to tell you. And of course to thank you and apologize. I'm really going to try and change some things about the way we live, so I'm glad you... glad you said some of these things. I need to do better...”
A smile came to Baekhyun unbidden. “Good stuff. So am I fired?”
“Hah. Not yet, if you don't mind.” Chanyeol's smile wasn't as wide as Baekhyun's, but it was definitely there. It left an almost sour taste in Baekhyun's stomach though. As if all of the single father's best efforts were correct in thought, but Baekhyun still wasn't sure they'd be done in deed. Changing the entire way a person lived was no easy task, and one day off from work was short compared to the lifetime he'd probably been this way. Still, for Jongin's sake—and maybe for Chanyeol's own—Baekhyun wished him the best.
“Let me know then. I'll pick him up on Wednesday unless you tell me otherwise.”
And then, because the mood seemed to strike him weirdly, before Chanyeol could stand up and leave, Baekhyun sauntered into his space alongside his legs and put a hand carefully on Chanyeol's shoulder. He felt the man stiffen, eyes on his, and then relax, just as Baekhyun leaned forward. He could say it was the beer, but it was really just curiosity that did it. He moved his hand from shoulder to cheek, closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Chanyeol's. Chanyeol's lashes fluttered across Baekhyun's, lips unresponsive for a moment until just a hair's breadth, they moved.
Baekhyun drew back before anything else could happen. Acting as calm as he actually felt, he smiled. Chanyeol opened his eyes, both arms in the air like he hadn't known what to do with them. Then he lowered them and exhaled smoothly.
“For luck,” said Baekhyun. “Goodnight.”
He hadn't written in his Wishes book for nearly a week, but that night Baekhyun opened it up, noting how almost everything in there had to do with either Chanyeol or his son. Feels good, kisses, he added, and then closed it before he slept.
Baekhyun half expected to wake up the next morning to Jongin's soft knocks on his door, however, for once Chanyeol was actually good at his word. Baekhyun saw nothing of his neighbors the whole day; he assumed they'd gone out on a day drive and was happy for them, hopeful that Chanyeol might have understood the necessity for reconnecting with his son after all. Even if it was just the beginning of a much longer process. On Wednesday the day after, he resumed pick-up and babysitting duties. Jongin didn't elaborate on all they'd done or talked about, but he wasn't quite as moody so that was a start. They spent most of the afternoons and evenings in Baekhyun's apartment, and it became habit through the rest of the week for Chanyeol to come home to Baekhyun's place first, and then they'd walk back to their own. It continued for another week like this as well. Sometimes Chanyeol even came home early from work, which is to say he came home on time and not late.
Hoorah hoorah, look who's finally being a dad! Baekhyun wrote, right next to the number for the barber shop where he took Jongin again to get his hair trimmed on the way home from school.
About their shared kiss, they did not speak. Baekhyun pretended he never initiated it, Chanyeol pretended he never responded. In front of Sehun, Baekhyun didn't refer to the fact that he even had a neighbor. He was so good at pretending it hadn't happened that he barely felt guilty at all, so good he almost forgot how the press of Chanyeol's lips against his had felt. Almost. It wasn't beyond his notice, however, how Chanyeol had developed a pattern of standing around longer in Baekhyun's kitchen at night after Jongin had packed up and gone home. Anywhere from three to ten minutes, sometimes fifteen. They shared no more kisses, but they did converse a little easier than before about normal things, natural things, like what kind of lunch Chanyeol had eaten with his colleagues today, and how late Baekhyun woke up this morning after playing video games all night. Chanyeol had noticed his slightly reddened eyes.
Nothing ever lead to anything else though, as it should be. Sometimes Baekhyun would pace around just before bed, noting how empty the space was without Jongin or his father. They'd snuck into Baekhyun's life like a fixture, so much that it seemed almost unreal how he had no actual relationship with either of them. A glorified hired help, paid retainer, barely even a friend, just an acquaintance. An acquaintance he didn't particularly like, but had still for some reason kissed.
That began to change one weekend. Sehun was over, complaining for the hundredth time how all of Baekhyun's weekdays were taken up with babysitting, and when was he going to get a real job? He couldn't do this forever. Baekhyun was bored with his boyfriend's appeals. He answered the knock on his door easily without even noticing what Sehun was saying. He drew up short though when it was Chanyeol there. Dressed in casual clothes, hair a little fuzzier than usual, looking much younger than he normally did in suits, and still so damned attractive that it made Baekhyun's mouth dry.
“Yes?” Lost your kid again? He almost asked.
“Hi!” said the man, almost barked, his eyes looking down at Baekhyun. Then he glanced up and saw Sehun scowling. “Oh, you have... company. Never mind, it's not important.”
“Huh?” said Baekhyun. “What's not important? I can be the judge of that.”
Chanyeol gulped and looked back at him. “Uhh, nothing. I was just going to invite you over to maybe watch that basketball game us and Jongin were talking about the other day, but I didn't mean to disturb you.”
Baekhyun was in just the kind of mischievous mood to take him up on the offer. “Oh, really? We were going to do the same. Mind if Sehun comes over too?” He heard his boyfriend choke from behind him, but he didn't turn around.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah of course.”
It was how he and Sehun ended up elbow to elbow on Chanyeol's living room loveseat, Chanyeol on the other full size couch by himself, and Jongin sprawled out on the floor. Of all of them, Sehun looked the most nervous, or was he just annoyed? Baekhyun elbowed him in the side to make him quit scowling, while Chanyeol tried eagerly, a little too over-eagerly, to draw him out with plain dialogue inquiries about his age and his life. After an hour though of making only partial inroads, and Baekhyun not helping one tiny bit, Sehun complained about somewhere he needed to be.
“Oh, well is there anything you need back in my apartment?” Baekhyun asked, showing no intention of getting up.
Sehun only stared at him, and then shook his head. “No.” For a second he appeared to think, staring at Baekhyun's lips like he wanted to kiss him goodbye. Then Baekhyun raised his eyebrows, and Sehun scowled. “See you later I suppose. Thanks for the... TV time? Chanyeol. Bye.”
The three of them finished watching the game from all three different spots, and then Jongin went to his room and Baekhyun went home.
On Sunday, however, Chanyeol showed up at Baekhyun's door alone and wanting to talk. Apologize actually for the really awkward atmosphere the night before. Baekhyun swept him inside with a flippant wave of his hand.
“Nah, don't worry about it. He was just in a bit of a rough mood anyways.”
“Oh? Okay then. It just seemed like maybe... he really didn't like me.” He seemed so awkward, standing in the middle of Baekhyun's living room scratching at spot just above his hairline. Baekhyun shrugged, but Chanyeol continued on, asking, “You didn't... did you tell him about... what... we did?”
Baekhyun almost laughed. “No? Why would I?” He didn't even think about how quick he was to assume Chanyeol meant their kiss. How his mind had already gone there before Chanyeol said something. How his mind was still there, wondering what Chanyeol thought of the whole thing. “I'm sorry. Was that horrible of me?”
“Is what horrible? Kissing me, or not telling your boyfriend?” Chanyeol didn't even sound mad, just confused.
“Either or?” asked Baekhyun with a casual smile. “I mean, it wasn't a big thing, right?” Just a kiss between... acquaintances. Screw the fact Chanyeol was almost ten years older and a dad, or how Baekhyun was not single.
“No. I mean yeah, no big deal. I was just making sure.”
It was also no big deal when twenty minutes later, after they'd chatted a whole bunch of nonsense, when Baekhyun walked him to the door and instead of quietly letting Chanyeol out, he accidentally looked up, sending the man a hungry look. Chanyeol was the one who started it this time, capturing Baekhyun's cheekbones between his rough, dry hands and prying open his lips. Baekhyun's hands went immediately to the empty belt loops of Chanyeol's jeans, the only thing holding him up as Chanyeol pressed him against the inside of door. They kissed in a way Baekhyun never had with Sehun. Nothing rushed, no panic, no urgency to get off. And when the older man's hands slunk down to his small of his back beneath his shirt, his fingers made no mark, exploring but not claiming. The same on his neck when Baekhyun finally pulled away to breathe, inhaling with little gasps at the light, wet kisses beneath the sensitive spot of his ear. All given with eagerness, instead of mine mine, Chanyeol telling him with every touch of his lips, hands and body: you you.
Chanyeol let him go after a few minutes, pulling away with saliva on his lips, a light spark in his eyes. And none of it was a big deal. Not this night, not the night afterwards. Not every evening for a week, during which time they grew bolder with each other while still respecting their boundaries.
Beside the new weekly schedule for Jongin's soccer practices and tournament, Baekhyun wrote: I should break up with him. If only he knew which him he really meant.
On Saturday again, Baekhyun volunteered to take Jongin to his match because Chanyeol had an early morning workshop. Someday, maybe Baekhyun would ask Chanyeol what he really did at work all day long, but every time the man opened his mouth to talk about it, it went in one ear and right out the other. In the long run, it wasn't like it would matter. Chanyeol promised to be at the game by at least halftime. In the meantime, Baekhyun was Jongin's one-man soccer mom cheering from the sides along with a lot of parents he didn't know. He thought he saw Kyungsoo's mom, but he didn't go anywhere near her in case she thought he really was Chanyeol's boyfriend, or some other nonsense like that. He wasn't, not really. Just a babysitter with perks.
In the end, Jongin scored no goals but he made one clever shot on target near the end of the second half which was saved by a defender. Baekhyun gave him a hug for that anyway, and his team actually won, so that didn't account for the reason Jongin was upset when they went home half an hour later.
Chanyeol hadn't shown, and Baekhyun wasn't even surprised.
He didn't get home until after dinner. Jongin had already eaten and gone to his room. Baekhyun just stared at Chanyeol blankly when he came in the door, daring him to come up with an excuse better than sorry, work took longer than expected. It was a measure of how well they knew each other that Chanyeol didn't even try. He smiled pitifully at Baekhyun's look of contempt, and Baekhyun walked out the door.
Chanyeol showed up outside Baekhyun's apartment much later in the evening. Hesitant, almost fearful—like Baekhyun really was someone whose opinion Chanyeol cared about crossing—he edged inside the doorway when Baekhyun let him in. He looked awfully young and cowed standing there in his customary slippers and trousers, jacket already gone and his undershirt un-tucked. More like a kicked puppy than a grown man and father of one. It should have been comical, or it should have pissed him off. Baekhyun was, however, devoid of both feelings. He judged Chanyeol in silence and grimaced when the man appeared to shrink before him; gave him an indifferent eyebrow raise while he tossed him a beer. Baekhyun turned on the TV and sat down, vaguely aware of Chanyeol sitting next to him and still they didn't really speak.
At least nothing beyond, “Jongin asleep now?” and, “Yeah.”
“You're kind of a shitty dad,” and, “I know.”
Twenty minutes later Baekhyun got tired of his beer, tired of Chanyeol, tired of all the bullshit and their weird-as-hell sexual tension. “Fuck this,” said Baekhyun as he slammed his bottle heavily onto the coffee table drink coaster, startling the glum man beside him. He pulled Chanyeol's bottle out of his hands as well, and promptly climbed onto his lap.
“Just so you know,” Baekhyun whispered right before clashing his lips into Chanyeol's stunned mouth. “This has nothing to do—” he gasped, and Chanyeol panted, “with anything resembling—a reward—for what you've done—or not done—today.”
Appropriately, Chanyeol did not reply. Baekhyun kept his lips busy in between his stuttered pronouncement, every other care thrown to the wind. He'd kissed him many times, they’d touched each through their clothes as well. Once Chanyeol had even gone so far as to slide his hands beneath Baekhyun's shirt and feel his muscles rippling across his lower back and spine. Tonight though Baekhyun was done with dealing with clothes, done with all complications.
Sloppily, he pulled their lips apart and glared down at the larger man. “Shirt off, now.”
Chanyeol complied with only a vague whimper. His fingers hesitated no longer than a second before he pulled at the lowest edge of shirt and whipped it over his head. Baekhyun almost growled to see his chest so exposed, blood pooling lower and hotter between his thighs. He stripped as well before leaning down and tasting the rim of one perfect set of collar bones. Chanyeol gasped at the touch, head striking the back of the couch, and his hips bucked once even as his hands wrapped around Baekhyun's ass to draw him closer. Bent over concave and grinding their hardening dicks, Baekhyun let himself be swept under.
“Baekhyun...” Chanyeol whispered, as he licked up higher into the curve of his neck.
Baekhyun nipped him once, leaving bite marks. “Did I say you could talk?” he almost snarled.
For answer Chanyeol only moaned, so Baekhyun figured he was doing something right. That or Chanyeol was, since all the man had to do was sit there and be hot for Baekhyun to want him. He'd been wanting him for so long too...
Eventually he abandoned his neck and went back to claim his lips. There was a whole lot more teeth than Baekhyun was used to, but after so long with them just dancing around the issue of attraction, Baekhyun was ready to let go. Teeth, tongue, hands and more; he wanted it all. They kissed and rutted for a long time, right up until the point where one of them usually backed off. It tended to be Baekhyun, but this time he didn't move. This time he snuck his hands down between their hardening cocks and touched him through the fabric. Chanyeol keened, hissing when Baekhyun's fingers fumbled to find his zipper.
“Baek, Baekhyun, wait. What are y— what are we doing?” he gasped even as his hips lifted into Baekhyun's fondling touch.
Baekhyun cut him off with another kiss, finishing with a teasing, lingering tongue across the lower rim of Chanyeol's lips. “What, you want it stop today? Okay, let's stop it today.”
Contrary to his words though, he continued his task of undoing the zipper. Chanyeol breathed heavily and dropped his head back again, presenting a tasty Adam's apple which Baekhyun just had to suck. He pulled apart the snaps of Chanyeol's pants and pulled, revealing the trim of Chanyeol's black briefs and the swell of his cock outlined there.
“Let's stop playing around and just do it.” Baekhyun nudged his own bulge against him as he panted.
A minute later he had dragged Chanyeol to his bedroom and finished stripping. Slippers at the foot of the bed, his pants rumpled on top of them, he crawled onto his bed and struck out the light. Chanyeol added the remainder of his clothes to the pile on the floor, and Baekhyun made sure the man had a great view of his ass, lit only by the street light pouring in through the open mini-blinds of his window. His balls hung heavily, his cock already hard and ready. He crushed it against the comforter as he dived off the end of the bed, enjoying the brief friction as his hands scrambled for the basket beneath the bed skirts to find his lube and a condom.
Chanyeol waited almost no time at all before following him onto the bed. His knees dipped into the mattress, breaths coming out heavier with every passing second.
“Baekhyun... fuck,” he said as one hand massaged the back of his thigh, bordering on the curve of his ass. Baekhun almost didn't make it back up. What were muscles or body strength when Chanyeol was mashing his buttocks, thumbs circling ever close to his rim? He pressed himself up on his elbows, tossing the supplies somewhere else on the bed but Chanyeol paid them no attention for a few minutes more. Instead he helped Baekhyun lay back completely on top of the comforter and aligned himself right above him. For every kiss Baekhyun had placed on his chest and neck on the couch, Chanyeol returned along his spine and shoulder blades, curve of his back. His hard length rested atop the curve of Baekhyun's ass, his entire weight light but warm, surprisingly familiar, comfortable.
Baekhyun held out for as long as he could. Then he pushed himself up on his elbows and hands, curving his back off the bed to dislodge Chanyeol's body, to urge him to get on with it. He held himself still, as much as was possible, while Chanyeol uncapped the bottle and worked Baekhyun open. He tried to keep his grunts down to a minimum. There was dignity to be held of course. Not that he lasted very long like that, not with Chanyeol's fingers pushing and prying and scissoring, or with Chanyeol's mouth soothing the skin along the arch of his back. Baekhyun pushed backwards, forcing his fingers deeper, fucking himself open while Chanyeol prepared and pleasured him. His cock hung heavily, leaking onto the blanket, and Baekhyun couldn't even be bothered to care. The only thing he cared about was when Chanyeol retracted his fingers, but that was only relieved when he heard the sound of the condom wrapper opening, or when Chanyeol's rubber sheathed cock rested right outside of his rim.
“Fuck, come on, Chanyeol, fuck me. Please,” Baekhyun pleaded, sweat already dotting his forehead, back and neck. Probably between his thighs, but with the first plunge of Chanyeol's cock, slowly, confidently, he forgot all about that.. The sensation of being filled, the finality of getting fucked by Chanyeol after all this time, Chanyeol, who wasn't even his boyfriend. Chanyeol who was just a neighbor, older than him by nearly a decade and father to the boy Baekhyun babysat. This was the Chanyeol whose dick rested so perfectly in Baekhyun's body, pressing in deep, pulling out shallow, slowly at first and then harder as the moments wore on.
“Baek, Baekhyun,” he continued to pant. If Chanyeol said anything more than that, Baekhyun couldn't distinguish the words. All thoughts were on his pleasure, on the feeling of being stuffed, chasing satisfaction.
“Come on, come on,” he egged him on, keening and whining loudly when Chanyeol followed suit, obeying Baekhyun's words like that was what the man lived for. Baekhyun had to hold his breath, time his back-thrusts, and wait for just the right moment when Chanyeol's entire body lunged forward. Only that way could he match him, thrust for thrust and double the sensation. They reached a rhythm in no time, probably like how they were always meant to be. Baekhyun sunk his forehead to the comforter, arched his back and quit making an effort the faster Chanyeol got. There was no need. Not with Chanyeol grunting with so much passion, or by the force of his hips barreling into Baekhyun's obliging hole. A hand found its way around Baekhyun's belly, fisting his cock, and Baekhyun came within seconds, silent and gasping, all energy gone from his body as Chanyeol milked him through orgasm. Only then did both of Chanyeol's hands retreat and hold Baekhyun solidly around his hips while the man used him fast and brutally.
Baekhyun was barely even aware when Chanyeol reached his peak. Only the ever increasing stutters of his hips, the moans, the single keening wail, gave evidence to Chanyeol's release. He fucked him quickly a few more times, then froze and panted, chest pressed right along Baekhyun's back, breath heavy and damp against Baekhyun's neck. Then he pulled out, and Baekhyun whined. Both shuddered and fell onto the bed, side by side, Baekhyun on top of his own pool of cum. Something vaguely registered in his brain about having to take his comforter to the laundry mat, but that was a thought for another day. For tomorrow. Certainly not for tonight. There would be plenty of time to think about tonight.
“Baek...”
That seemed to be the only word Chanyeol could remember to say. Baekhyun couldn't really blame him. The other's man name was the only thing he himself could think about. Chanyeol worming himself into Baekhyun's life, Baekhyun letting him infiltrate it with the very opposite of ease.
“You're suffocating me,” he told him.
Chanyeol instantly rolled off of Baekhyun's body from where he had fallen. Baekhyun panted, alcohol finally getting the better of him as he closed his eyes, fingers inching towards the nearest pillow he could find.
“Sorry,” said Chanyeol. His sigh was born partly out of contentment, partly out of confusion. Baekhyun wasn't so out of it that he couldn't tell.
It was one of the last things they said to each other that night. A few more shuffles of conversation and body parts, and Chanyeol gathered up his clothes, dressing just modestly enough to make it down the hall. Baekhyun tossed his soiled comforter onto the floor and slept under only his sheets. Sunday was a day when they normally wouldn't meet each other anyways. Neither called, neither texted. Neither made it the short journey down the hall to one or the other's doorstep. Baekhyun thought about going to the laundry mat where the heavy duty washing machine was big enough to handle his blanket, however, he was too lazy to actually do so. On Monday, Baekhyun picked up Jongin just like normal and hung out with him just like normal, ignoring the fact that he'd slept with the kid's dad just two nights before. That evening when he saw Chanyeol again, they conversed, but not about Saturday night.
“I'm taking sort of a demotion,” Chanyeol confessed at the end of the week.
“Hmm?” Baekhyun questioned him casually, just as an acquaintance might do.
“There's a branch a few towns away. It's less hours. Less pay too, but I think it'll be good for Jongin. Better if I can be home more during the summer so he doesn't... so he doesn't have to stay with his grandparents as much.”
It was good news. Baekhyun approved it whole-heartedly and even told Chanyeol as much. There was more they might have discussed, thoughts about them, about their relationship, however, all that came second to Jongin's well-being and both knew it.
“So... I have like, one more week before I start my internship. When are you moving?” Baekhyun asked, just to verify.
“The week after that.”
It was strangely matter-of-fact, how they discussed the last week of Baekhyun's employment.
Last week and it's the beginning of the end,” Baekhyun wrote in his journal. He didn't even think anymore about the person who had bought it for him. It was Sehun's birthday present, but Baekhyun hadn't spoken to Sehun all week. A bit of that was because of guilt, the better part was because of indifference. He would break up with him in the final week before Chanyeol and Jongin left. After months of a boring, neglectful relationship, Baekhyun finally realized how little he cared.
He left his notebook once in Chanyeol's apartment. His 'employer' found it and returned it later, and something in his eyes told Baekhyun that Chanyeol had perused enough of it to tell. That he knew enough about how Baekhyun viewed Chanyeol's parenting skills like a joke and their relationship as a fling. It went over better than he expected. A casual acknowledgment of something that would never be more. A proverbial handshake, a knowing grimace that Baekhyun himself had meant something more. He wasn't just a babysitter. Baekhyun was a catalyst, a wake-up call in Chanyeol's life. A reminder of all the things Jongin could have had from a parent but hadn't yet gotten in his eight years of life, of the things he needed, not from Baekhyun but from Chanyeol.
He helped them pack, coached Jongin into getting exciting about their new, upcoming home, and when Jongin asked if Baekhyun would ever visit them there, he smiled but shrugged noncommittally, assuring the kid that his dad would be around more often. He hoped that would remain the case, that Chanyeol would have learned a few things from his time with Baekhyun and put them to good use.
And then one day, they were gone.
Baekhyun started his new internship, Sehun appeared every so often to berate him for the breakup, to accuse him of cheating, and Baekhyun neither confirmed nor denied it. He shut him out of his life, pouring himself happily into his new career. And every now and then he read the occasional text or e-mail from Chanyeol about how their life was going, and sometimes... he replied.