Just Go With It | CHANBAEK

part 2.

Inside the elevator, Chanyeol saw their reflection on the mirror-like doors. Baekhyun had his arms crossed in a defensive manner, but after a closer look, he looked like he had just awoken from a long nap. If that was the case, that might've explained why he was missing earlier. Inwardly sighing, Chanyeol turned his eyes to the floor.

Shouldn't he--in the very, very least-- try to be friends with Jongin's best man?

Then again, he had been trying, and they hadn't made any progress. It was clear that Baekhyun already had some kind of grudge against him. For some reason, it made Chanyeol curious to ask as to why that was... It wasn't as though he had done anything malicious other than read Flowers in the Rain in public. And in his defense, it wasn't a crime for him to do that.

Crossing his arms together, Chanyeol bit down on his bottom lip, lost in thought. It was only when Baekhyun spoke up that he raised his eyes again.

"What're you doing? Copying me?"

"What?" Looking down at the man beside him, Chanyeol noticed they were both crossing their arms and leaning against the elevator railing behind them. Immediately catching it, he dropped his hands off to the side and took a side step away from Baekhyun. "No!"

The expression of Baekhyun's face didn't change. "Hm."

Shortly after, the doors opened and they arrived at the lobby with Jongin and Kyungsoo standing not too far away.

❁ ❁ ❁

"Sehun!" Chanyeol was met with a rough hug that almost took him right down in the middle of the restaurant, but he didn't care. Relief had swept over Chanyeol when he heard there'd be some familiar faces at dinner, and seeing his old friends was nothing short of exciting. "Can't believe you actually spared the time to be with us 'normies'."

Playfully sticking a finger in his mouth, Sehun gagged. "Stop or I'll vomit for real."

Kyungsoo sighed. "Please don't."

"Yixing, you too? When did you arrive in Seoul?"

"A couple days ago!"

As Sehun sat back down in his seat, Chanyeol followed his lead and chose to sit across from his friends.

Grinning, Jongin put an arm around Baekhyun and Kyungsoo's shoulders and started herding the two of them to their seats. "Come, come. Baekhyun, you can sit next to Jongdae."

Waving his hand in the arm, their old mutual friend made himself known. "Baekhyun~"

Baekhyun warmly smiled and pleasantly sang back, "Jongdae~"

Although Chanyeol was conversating lightly, he couldn't help but notice the way the two exchanged their words. He was left speechless--again. Even if it wasn't at his (embarrassing) expense. Jongin's best man really was complicated and...puzzling, at best.

❁ ❁ ❁

There were four levels of 'drunk'.

The first level was Yixing; a man who couldn't even finish a cocktail. Halfway through it, he could barely keep his head up. However, when the servers brought over his steak, he perked up a little bit and mustered up a bit of sobriety to enjoy the meal.

The second level was Sehun. Having been to his fair share of grand openings and business-friendly gatherings where drinking was considered a must, he kept his liquor down well enough. When he started to feel tipsy, he stopped because he didn't want to risk looking like an idiot in front of other people. God forbid his shame somehow ending up on the trending page of Weibo.

The third level was everyone except Baekhyun, because despite the fact that Baekhyun knew how to deal with his liquor consumption on a god-like level when they were in the restaurant, the second Jongin and Chanyeol threw him in the backseat of the SUV, he started bawling. At this point, the only one completely sober was Jongin (the designated driver). Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were moderately tipsy, but far better off than Baekhyun who had turned his back away from Chanyeol and stuffed his face in the corner where the car seat met the door.