The Letter

The Cure

It was only a while after finishing that Chanyeol and Sehun slipped out of the shop to let Luhan and the rest of the workers man the crowd. Chanyeol was reluctant, though. He didn't like leaving the place knowing that Baekhyun was still clueless about him—being busy and all—but he also knew that the scene wasn't the ideal scene for him to explode on the guy.

By the time six-thirty came around, Baekhyun had already graciously let his three employees go home to close up on his own. His last customer left ten minutes prior, which was perfect because he no longer had to stay at the front to entertain them.

He left the goods that were made that day in the display cases, but took the ones that had been there for more than a day out. He put all of those in a box before pivoting to place them in the backroom to donate later that night to the homeless shelter, which could always use a range of gigantic, sugary cupcakes.

As he was in the back, Baekhyun heard the faint ring of the bell that hung above the store's door. The first thought was a thought telling himself that he forgot to turn off the open sign. Quickly, Baekhyun set the box on a table before making his way back to the front. If it was a customer, he was going to attend to them despite hours being done.

When Baekhyun was walking through the door, he wiped his hands on his black apron before looking up. "Hi! Welcome to Pabo's Caf—" Baekhyun stopped short. "Café..."he muttered out.

In front of him, Chanyeol stood there. He wasn't necessarily glaring or intently looking at him. It seemed like a soft gaze to him. Oddly enough, the look in Chanyeol's eyes made Baekhyun feel uncomfortable. It was because they had this feeling in them. Baekhyun didn't mistake the feeling in Chanyeol's eyes with anything. He knew what it was.

Love.

After an entire fleeting eternity, Baekhyun found his voice. "H-Hi..." When Chanyeol didn't move or say anything new, Baekhyun lowered his gaze, dropping the eye contact between them. "How?"

Finally, Chanyeol moved forward. He looked away from Baekhyun for a moment only to find the small gate separating the shop from the area behind the counter. "Sehun," Chanyeol mumbled. Then he lifted the lock and walked in.

When he did that, Baekhyun watched as the distance between them became smaller and smaller. Still, he stood his ground. He didn't back away or run off to the backroom. Baekhyun was tired of running. Three years of always having to be on the go was enough...

Just because Baekhyun decided he wasn't going to turn and run, that didn't mean that he was going to fully surrender himself to the man in front of him. Chanyeol was married for fuck's sake! The reminder of Chanyeol's marital status took a stab at Baekhyun's chest.

"Chanyeol, go home..." Baekhyun started. He heard his own voice pleading.

Chanyeol stopped four feet of his runaway bride. "You really expect me to just turn around and leave?"

Baekhyun waited for a few seconds before giving Chanyeol a small nod. "It's only right."

Creasing his brows, Chanyeol glared. "What do you mean it's only right?" he demanded. "Do you live in some wayward world, Baek? A world where I'm perfectly okay without you? Or a world where we don't exist? Do you really think that after finding you—after waiting an entire empty lifetime—that I'd just turn around and leave?" Chanyeol shook his head. "I didn't come here to see a glimpse of you. I didn't come here to just fucking see you..."

Raising his eyes, Baekhyun pursed his lips. "Then what did you come here for?" he asked in a hushed voice.

Chanyeol's expression changed as it began to look like he was going to break. "You," he said in a soft tone. "I'm here because of you...Because I'm done having the shittiest years of my life. I'm tired of thinking about where you are and what you're doing. I'm exhausted trying to live when half of me is already dead just because you're not around."