*

Chanyeol looks around the hotel suite illuminated by scented candle lights while rose petals scatter elegantly on the floor. The staff sprinkled some petals on top of the bed and on the bath too, filling the room with pink, red and orange colour. The small dining table beside the bed is also nicely decorated with a vase between two empty champagne glasses.

It smells romantic as fuck so Chanyeol can't help cringing a little to himself seeing the result of his once simple plan for this night date. If only his father hadn't interfered and told him to prepare, he wouldn't have done this shit.

But he's quite glad his father bothered to care.

He's quite glad his father actually cared.

"I think this is a bit too much," Chanyeol mutters to himself as he glares at the heart shape on the bed formed by rose petals. He lifts an unamused eyebrow.

"Fuck, what the hell is this?" He ruins it with his hand like a child playing with mud. He hums once he's done, feeling satisfied of his work. "There."

Looking around, he had a glimpse of the window heading to the balcony so he goes there to check. The beautiful view of New York City welcomes his eyes, putting a tiny smile on his lips.

"I hope he'll like this."

Baekhyun wrote down on his list that he wanted to see New York City during night time, so Chanyeol had to make sure that his wish will come true tonight.

Hearing the doorbell ring, he turns around quick and immediately straightens up. He looks down at his watch, grinning to himself that Baekhyun is five minutes early at their rendezvous.

Before taking a step towards the door, he smells his breath first and fixes his hair on the mirror just to ensure he looks more handsome than what he already is. He clears his throat twice and practices a bright smile by stretching his cheeks and jaw.

He calms his heart down.

"Alright, let's do it."

The doorbell rings again, so he goes to open it with an extra skip on his steps.

*

Just as soon as the cab halts in front of the luxurious hotel, Baekhyun quickly gets off the car he almost forgot to pay the fare. Carrying the box of wine as he runs, he enters the establishment in his ragged clothing and ignores the judging stares people are throwing at him. He doesn't bother to ask the front desk as he heads to the elevator, pressing the button of the floor written on the paper Mrs. Park gave him.

He needs to get this shit over with so that he can go to Chanyeol on time.

"Come on, I need get this done already," Baekhyun tells himself as he taps his foot impatiently. The room is still on the 35th floor. "All I have to do is give this to the guest then head straight to Chanyeol sunbae." He remembers at the end of Chanyeol's text that his room is at the topmost floor of the building, at the 52nd floor.

He still has roughly five minutes.

"I hope I make it on time."

Ting!

Baekhyun runs off like a flash.

It takes three rushed presses on the doorbell before the owner of the suite finally opens their door. Trying not to appear rude in front of Mrs. Park's guest, Baekhyun manages to prepare a forced smile on his mouth when a woman comes into his view.

Baekhyun musters his best speaking skills before he talks in a small voice.

"Good evening, Miss. Mrs. Youngmi Park sent me here to hand this over to---"

Hiding behind the door, the woman furrows her eyebrows at Baekhyun and cuts him off, "Hey. I think you're at the wrong room. Get lost."

Baekhyun immediately eyes the paper and the number of the suite. 305, it's correct, he can't be mistaken.

"But... But this... Here on the paper..."

The woman in front of Baekhyun suddenly jolts when someone nudges her and pushes her out of the door. Glaring at the person inside the suite, she curses when her stuff are thrown at her. That is only when Baekhyun notices her not wearing anything aside from her provocative black laced underwear.

Baekhyun's blushes furiously, covering his eyes and hides.

"Fuck! You could've been nicer, you know---ouch! What the hell, don't throw stuff at me!" the hooker yells as she picks up her heels to wear it. "Fine, I'm leaving!"

She looks at Baekhyun who is now peeking at the spaces between his fingers. He's quite relieved seeing her now covered with a robe.

"Hey, is this your first time seeing a naked woman? Should I do you next?" She asks, and Baekhyun feels uncomfortable with that smile. "You look cute by the way."

The hooker rolls her eyes and right away disappears when the owner of the suite appears by the door behind Baekhyun.

Baekhyun sighs, "Finally, she's gone."

"Hey Shorty."

Baekhyun turns around, and his eyes widen in shock, seeing that familiar person he once saw before.

"We meet again."

"Mr. Kris?" Baekhyun mutters and the man offers him a cheeky grin while he crosses his arms against his chest, leaning against the door. "You're... you're Mrs. Park's guest? You know her?"

Kris shrugs nonchalantly, "Well, it just happens to be like that."

"But why... That time..." Baekhyun recalls all the happenings that took place when he first met Kris--- from him staying over at his house up to them making out in the street.

He suddenly steps back, feeling his body tremble a little.

This man, this dangerous man lured him to do that mistake. He had hidden intentions towards him. He was the main reason why Chanyeol and him fought that night.

Baekhyun shouldn't have met him in the first place.

He shouldn't have trusted him from the start.

"Hey, don't be scared," Kris calmly says as he steps closer to Baekhyun, "I'm not a bad guy. I saved you after all." He smirks. "You even had a good time with me, right?"

"Let's not see each other again," Baekhyun mutters at the tall man, then he hands him the wine, "Here. Take this and I'll leave quietly."

"Baekhyun, I think it doesn't work just like that," Baekhyun feels chills hearing him call his name. Taking the wine from Baekhyun's hand, Kris suddenly grabs his wrist and laughs. "So this is what Youngmi Park was talking about. That woman has such a kind soul."

Baekhyun has no idea what the hell he's blabbering about but nonetheless, he wants to get out of here quick so he can finally be with Chanyeol. He's sure his boyfriend is already waiting for him. He needs to be there right fucking now.

"Please let go of me. I need to leave now."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry." Kris releases him, waving his hands apologetically. "I suddenly got excited about seeing you again."

"Can I go now?" Baekhyun asks, because really, he's about to fly to the 52nd floor if only he could. "I'm in a hurry so would you please excuse me."

"Woah, hold it right there." Kris blocks his way with his giant figure. "You gifted me with a bottle of wine and you're just gonna leave? It's really sad drinking this alone, you know."

Baekhyun clenches his fists. "I don't care. I have to go, so get out of my way." He's about to pass by him when Kris persistently blocks him again.

"The last time I saw you, you were like a small lost puppy crying to get home," Kris clicks his tongue, smiling with interest. "But now look at you all grown up and sassy. I'm so proud." Baekhyun glares at him. "You still look cute, though."

"Fuck off."

"Oooh. I'm scared."

Baekhyun chuckles to himself, shakes his head, then backs away a little.

Kris raises an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kris. I don't really wanna do this but," he gets into position and before Kris can even dodge, Baekhyun is already aiming for the part in between his legs. He straight-kicks him square on his balls that has the man screaming and kneeling in pain.

"I won't let you ruin my night. Goodbye."

"Fuck!!! Why did you do that!" Kris wails out, clutching his broken crotch as he rolls on the floor, "Ouch! My balls!"

Baekhyun never turns back as he heads towards the elevator, his heart racing fast with the thought of Chanyeol filling his mind.

*

"Uhm, Mr. Chanyeol Park?"

The blinding smile wears off Chanyeol's lips at the sight of the server awkwardly shifting his foot outside the door. He's been standing there for quite a while now as Chanyeol only stares blankly at him, and the server knows that this client must be expecting someone to arrive instead of him. What can he do, though. He's just doing his job here.

"Excuse me, Sir...?"

Chanyeol's hand slowly falls off the doorknob, looking away instead. His once warm eyes turn cold while his face shifts indifferently. He steps aside to let the server push the trolley inside the spacious suite. The guy puts the food covered with the silver cloche on top of the table, taking his time to grace it with a bottle of champagne beside it.

Chanyeol stares at the time on his watch. It's exactly six o'clock in the evening and Baekhyun is still not here.

"The flowers, where shall I put them?"

He looks at the bouquet of red roses, and the bright color reminds him of Baekhyun's rosy lips.

"Just on top of the bed is fine."

It feels like forever.

People are coming in and out of the elevator nonstop like they're purposely not letting Baekhyun arrive on time. He's already seventeen minutes late for pete's sake, after all the ruckus Kris did to him. He may have wanted to throw these people out of the window so he can get to the 52nd floor already if not for his limited physical strength.

The elevator suddenly stops, while the lights flicker on and off.

Shit. Is this seriously happening right now.

A series of groans and complains arise from the people inside, and Baekhyun is close to losing his shit. He pulls his own hair in frustration, and is about to bang his head on the nearest wall when the door opens. They're still at the 40th floor.

"Forgive us for the sudden technical problem but we request everyone to get off the elevator. You may use the elevator at the next---" The staff hasn't finished yet what he's saying when all the passengers--- young and old--- are already pushing each other out and running off like they're in a race just to catch the next elevator across the hall in a span of three seconds.

Baekhyun hasn't even had the chance to at least take one step to walk, so he is now left alone inside the broken and empty elevator with his jaw hanging open. The staff clears his throat to gain his attention.

"I'm sorry that you were too slow."

Baekhyun's head is gonna burst any minute from now, "Are you for real?"

"I'd take the stairs now if I were you."

Suppressing his anger, Baekhyun takes a deep breath and proceeds running to the stairs anyway. He fishes his phone out of his pocket in the process, and ends up cursing the device finding it battery empty. Now he can't even call Chanyeol. Just fucking great.

"Hah... Chanyeol sunbae... I'm gonna get there.... Just so you wait!"

Even though he reeks of sweat and all haggard with his hair messy and make up ruined, Baekhyun trudges the endless stairs using his short thick legs. Panting for dear life, he endures the muscle pain and keeps on climbing up.

"Why isn't he coming yet," Chanyeol mutters to himself as he walks back and forth across the room while constantly checking his phone. It has been almost half an hour and Baekhyun hasn't still arrived. "His phone is turned off. I wonder what happened to him."

"Maybe your girlfriend got lost or something..."

"I'm not asking for your opinion," Chanyeol tells the server who's just innocently standing by the side, "And I don't have a fucking girlfriend."

"So is it your wife, then?"

"No."

"A mistress, maybe?"

Chanyeol glares, "What the hell are you still doing here? Fuck off."

"I just thought you needed some company, Mr. Chanyeol Park."

"What I need is fresh air and that is impossible when you exist in the same room as me."

Not forgetting to bad-mouth Chanyeol secretly under his breath, the guy finally takes his leave and closes the door of the suite. He is about to go back to the work he left when he sees a shuddering body crawling on the carpet in a creepy manner.

"Water... I need water... "

He screeches and runs away fast. "Aaaah!!!"

"Finally..." Baekhyun says, now standing up by supporting himself on the wall while walking, "I'm here.... Chanyeol sunbae..."

He presses the doorbell weakly as he catches for his heavy breathing. It seems like the water in his body has already ran out because of too much sweating. His feet and legs are in pain while his vision is swirling.

He just wants to see Chanyeol and tell him he's here.

The door swings open and Baekhyun's body immediately falls. Chanyeol's eyes widen in surprise, but he is right away quick to catch the male in his arms.

Why the fuck are you forty six minutes late?

What the hell just happened to you?

Why do you look like shit?

Where in the world have you been?

I thought you already left me.

All those words are swallowed down his throat as Chanyeol only stays quiet and frozen on his spot when Baekhyun gently rests his head against his chest.

"Thank you for coming," is what he just ends up saying anyway. "I'm glad you made it."

Baekhyun can hear Chanyeol's steady heartbeat this close, and it puts a warm smile on his lips while he recharges his energy like this.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Baekhyun answers, then he gazes up to Chanyeol and straightens himself up. That's only when he realizes how handsome Chanyeol is especially tonight. His hair is pushed back and neat while he is wearing gentleman clothes that suits him well.

Baekhyun suddenly gets conscious of how he appears in front of Chanyeol as he is the exact opposite. But nonetheless, he still showcases his best smile at him.

"You look so handsome tonight, Chanyeol sunbae."

"And you don't."

Baekhyun rubs his nape and looks down. "I'm sorry---"

"You look beautiful as always."

He shoots his head up. "Huh?"

"Nothing," Chanyeol just clears his throat, turning his back around, "I said get inside so we can eat."

The food tastes like heaven. This is exactly the steak (medium rare) that Baekhyun wanted to eat which he wrote down on his list, not to mention the romantic ambiance the suite emits. He can't help but stare in awe while eating as he wanders his eyes around the room.

There's a soft classical background music playing from an old vinyl record. Scented candles are lighted at every corner meanwhile rose petals are thrown beautifully on the floor. Speaking of roses, Baekhyun gets a glimpse of that large bouquet of red roses on top of the bed.

His heart squeezes at the sight, smiling dreamily. It's all just like what he wrote down on his list for his ideal romantic night date. It's all happening right now. It still feels surreal, because he only saw this in movies before where the couple spend the night like this.

Still in the state of disbelief that Chanyeol prepared all these stuff for him, Baekhyun is unconsciously ogling at the man across him with a weird look on his face, smiling dumbly at him.

Chanyeol wipes his mouth with the table napkin. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

This is the first time in forever that Baekhyun receives a special treatment like this from Chanyeol so he doesn't really know what to say.

"Thank you," is what just Baekhyun tells him as he finishes his dinner. "I'm really happy."

"So... Did you like the food?"

"Yes, it's delicious."

"Right, I almost forgot," Chanyeol stands up to get the flowers. Clearing his throat, he hands the bouquet to Baekhyun it blocks his face. "Here, for you."

Baekhyun hugs the roses close to his chest, before he peeks at Chanyeol who's smiling at him like he's constipated.

Baekhyun just internally laughs.

"Thank you!" He sniffs it and chuckles. "It smells good."

Chanyeol opens his palm secretly where he wrote down a list:

Eat dinner.
Give flowers.
The balcony.
Kiss.
Backhug.
Tell him you love him.

"Come with me, I have to show you something," Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun's wrist. Baekhyun hastily puts down the flowers before the other male holds his shoulders and guides him, pushing him to the balcony.

"Wow!" Baekhyun exclaims, his eyes sparkling at the breathtaking view of the glimmering lights of the city as well as the shining river. "It's so beautiful! I can see the whole Manhattan up from here! Oh! And the bridge!" Baekhyun points at it like a child which makes Chanyeol who's watching behind him laugh.

"Chanyeol sunbae! Look---" Baekhyun turns around to face him but stops, seeing Chanyeol already right behind him. He suppresses his breath when the taller leans in closer, putting both his hands on either side of him to hold the railing.

Baekhyun's heart skips a beat.

"Where should I look," Chanyeol says, staring down at Baekhyun's wide eyes looking up to him. He lifts his chin up to see his pretty face better, "Here?"

They've been near like this a lot of times before but Baekhyun's chest still manages to thump nervously whenever Chanyeol looks at him like this as though he is his world, and holds him like this as though he is his everything.

"Close your eyes."

Baekhyun closes his eyes.

Chanyeol then presses a gentle kiss on his forehead, and that is when Baekhyun's knees melt into a puddle of goo. Chanyeol is like a totally different person. Is he possessed? Is this the real him?

Baekhyun's hand reaches Chanyeol's cheek, giving it a little squeeze. It's soft. It's definitely him. He's real.

"Baekhyun, why were you late?" Chanyeol asks, holding Baekhyun's hand on his face. Baekhyun tries to avoid eye contact as Chanyeol never lets go of his hand.

"Well, I ran an errand for your mother," Baekhyun starts, trailing his eyes at anywhere but Chanyeol, "She asked me to give something to her guest here in this hotel and it turned out to be that person."

"Who was it?"

"Mr. Kris. Do you remember him?"

"How could I forget that asshole," Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun can trace a hint of annoyance in his voice, "So what happened?"

"If I hadn't kicked him on the balls, I wouldn't have escaped. He was clearly hitting on me, that stupid jerk!" Baekhyun blurts out, furrowing his eyebrows, "And on my way to you, the elevator broke down so I had to take the stairs from the 40th floor up to here."

"So that was why you looked like you were dying."

"Yes. I climbed up twelve floors just to get to you," Baekhyun says, "I was really cool, right?"

"You should've called me," Chanyeol replies, stroking Baekhyun's hair fondly which falls to his eyes.

"My phone ran out of battery, I'm sorry."

A comfortable silence fills the air between the two of them as they relish each other's body warmth. Baekhyun has his gaze fixed on the night view as he stays inside Chanyeol's hold.

"Let's stay like this a little longer," Chanyeol whispers, then he moves closer and puts his arms around Baekhyun.

Baekhyun doesn't actually mind standing like this for an eternity if that would only mean he has Chanyeol hugging him from behind.

"Chanyeol sunbae."

"What is it?"

"I guess it's the other way around," Baekhyun says, "For the past three years that we're together, I've been always telling you that I'd stay loyal to you no matter what. But you see, it's nothing like that."

"What are you saying?"

"Sometimes when I think about you and just stare into a distance, I realize how many times I have wronged you," Baekhyun says, and he's talking about the student council, Sehun, as well as Kris, and every selfishness and stupidity he did in the past which all Chanyeol had forgiven.

"The one that is faithful... is not me."

Chanyeol looks at him.

"It is you, who looked only at me from the very first start."

Baekhyun tips his toes up and places his hands on Chanyeol's shoulder. He gives him a chaste kiss on the lips with his eyes closed, before he is pulling away to smile at him with all his heart.

"Thank you for loving me and for showing me who you truly are," Baekhyun says. "This." He points at Chanyeol's chest, and Chanyeol follows his index finger, "This is the real you, right?"

Chanyeol doesn't speak. No words come out of his mouth as he only looks at Baekhyun with gentleness in his eyes.

"Well, I can see right through you now." Baekhyun grins. "And I know that you are a good person. You're warm and kind, because you always take care of me and worry about me all the time."

"What if I change... and become a bad person like what I was before?" Chanyeol asks. "Would you still love me?"

"Of course," Baekhyun says, smiling brightly, "What we were from the start and what we are right now won't dictate my feelings towards you. It is what we've been through, Chanyeol sunbae."

Sometimes though, Baekhyun says the most nonsense things but he also mutters the most meaningful words Chanyeol longs to hear.

For him this is more than enough.

He can now feel at ease knowing that.

"Nah. You don't have to say it," Baekhyun chuckles, waving a flippant hand. Chanyeol is staring at him again with that look on his face like he's about to say something, "I know it already. Yes. I love you, too. So much."

"But I still want to say it."

Baekhyun turns to look at him and lifts an eyebrow. "Alright then, say it out loud."

Chanyeol clears his throat, then he yells on top of his lungs:

"I LOVE YOU, BAEKHYUN! Let's stay with each other for a long time, okay!"

"OKAY!" Baekhyun chuckles heartily as he screams out loud into the distance. "Let's be together till death do us part!"

"Of course," Chanyeol says to himself, watching Baekhyun beside him whose hair is swaying with the wind. "Let's be together... till death do us part."

*

To be continued.