To be perfectly honest, I don't know how I ended up spending the rest of the night scrolling through designs for a pet collar. I just finished preparing for a presentation tomorrow at the office and maybe because Peanut is sleeping on my study desk that I finally thought about getting him and Rain their own collars. Besides, Baekhyun will just die if anyone of them gets lost anyway.

Google gave me a whole lot of options. And being the top recommended, I clicked on a website owned by this shop called Prime Pets and was absolutely stunned by these gorgeous collars designed with different kinds of jewels.

Taking my laptop, I walked out of my office and across the hall where Byun Baekhyun's studio is located. From right outside his door, I could already hear angry metal music playing. This isn't really his genre... so maybe it's for some inspiration?

I lifted my hand and knocked politely on the door. No answer. The music just keeps raging. I tried again, louder this time. Still, no answer.

With a sigh, I tried the doorknob. It's unlock so it basically means Baekhyun doesn't really require you to keep out. One thing about Byun Beaekhyun, though: He doesn't really like locking doors unless he really need to. It's because of something that happened before. But eh, it's another story.

As the knob gave way, slowly, I opened the door and peeked inside.

The studio is messier than ever. Paint is splattered everywhere; on his desk, the sofa, the rags, the glass wall, and even on some of his previous paintings. My fiance is wearing his ragged overalls over a white shirt now dirtied with different colors of paint. Propped on the far wall is a giant canvas, even taller than me, and Baekhyun lifted a pint of black paint and forcefully splashed the contents on the canvas. With a large brush, he started spreading the color in the way he likes.

Hesitantly, I wrapped a protective arm around my laptop and stepped inside the room. "Baby?" I called out through the music and to my surprise, Baekhyun looked back immediately. He looks tired, yes. But the fact that he still looks glowing despite his messed up hair and paint-splattered face definitely caught me off guard. I almost did a double take when he beamed at me.

When beauty slaps you on the face, you can't stop some words from dying out.

"Hey," he grinned before dropping his brush and walking over to the stereo to stop the music. "I thought you're asleep already, babe. Is my music too loud?" Baekhyun tried wiping his hands on his overalls as he approached me but just gave up when he couldn't clean them.

I looked at the wall clock. "It's past twelve in the morning, Byun Baek," I said with a frown. "I thought you're already finishing up. And what's with the music? That's kinda new."

Baekhyun giggled before standing on his toes to give me a quick kiss. His lips are just as soft as I can remember and the gesture somehow drove the sleepiness away. Slowly, he reached up for my face and straightened my frown with his thumb. "Are you grumpy because I'm staying up late or because you think you're gonna sleep without me again?"

I faked a glare. "How about both?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, babe," he cooed, obviously teasing, before wrapping both arms around my waist. I lift up my laptop and out of the way so I could encircle him with my arms. "I thought the pillows are enough for you. I intentionally bought another three before I started this project."

"I knew it!" I exclaimed. "I knew we didn't originally have seven pillows!"

Baekhyun laughed, the sound pleasantly filling the room. "I'm actually making a series for this exhibit and I want my theme to be kind of dark," he explains. "Fortunately, I'm currently hating on someone so I thought the music would be nice to fuel that anger. I might make another masterpiece because of it."

The frown went back in a split second. "Hating on someone?" Is it Lara? Or Daehyun?

But Baekhyun doesn't really hate, so maybe someone I don't know?

"Yeah!" Baekhyun suddenly sounded annoyed as he buries his face against my chest. "He's this new muse the professor hired for one of our art classes. They said he's a trainee in one of the famous entertainment companies and everyone's swooning over how good looking he is. But you know what, all I see is an arrogant prick who won't stop making fun of me."

Oh, now I see.

I stared at the giant canvas and noted the angry streaks my fiance just made, as if the paint did him bad personally. But a good looking guy making fun of Baekhyun in school? This sounds like a high school drama I already know the ending to. "I'm betting he likes you," I pointed out, staring down at Baek. "He wouldn't get out of his way just to tease you to death if he's not interested."

"What?" Baekhyun pulled back, looking confused. "That's absurd."

"How is that absurd?" I asked back.

"I don't know," Baek shrugged, annoyed again. "Maybe it's because you don't make sense? How is liking someone equates to making fun of his sketches? I mean, if you like someone, you fucking be a fucking gentleman not some fucking jerk who makes fun of his hair just because it's too soft for your own fucking liking!"

Okay, woah. Did I just hit a nerve? "Baby--" I tried to calm him.

"And you know the other day? He was laughing at one of my paintings because he said it was too edgy for a soft guy like me! And he even waited for me to enter the room just to throw his insults to my face," my fiance rages on. "What does he fucking mean by that? So what if I'm a little feminine?! What does that has to do with my art? Is he a fucking idiot? Is he waiting for a punch? A kick in the ass? 'Cause I'll fucking give him that, babe. I fucking will!"

I really think this unknown guy likes Baekhyun. A lot. But what he's doing is so... amateur.

Liking Byun Baekhyun doesn't require you to draw circles around him with your feelings and expect the lines to straighten themselves out. You should be straightforward. Because Baekhyun doesn't fancy playing games.

I gently poked Baekhyun's forehead with my index finger. "You should really watch some more high school dramas," I chuckled before walking over to a couch. I propped the laptop on the table and gestured for Baek to sit beside me.

Still quite confused, Baekhyun went to sit on the sofa. "Again I ask: How is liking someone equates to being a fucking bully?" He faces me and poked my chest. "You liked me before and you were a complete gentleman. That's how you should treat the one you're interested in. You treat him the way you treat what you like. That guy's a fucking moron," Baek shoved me by the shoulder. "Go over and give him a lesson."

"What—" I protest. "Not everyone's like me!"

Byun Baekhyun glares like he does when I disagree with whatever he says. But then he rolled his eyes, dismissive. "Yeah, yeah," Baek huffs. "But you know what," he suddenly looks annoyed over something else again. "My friends keep telling me: 'I want a Chanyeol, too!', 'He's so perfect. Why can't all the other guys be like him?', 'Why can't my boyfriend buy me a house, too?', 'He bought you a plane? That's just another level of gallant!' " Baekhyun mimics them with matching voice impersonation and gestures, making me laugh out loud. Then he added with conviction, "And I tell them: Oh, don't you fucking lay a hand on my fiance, or you're dead meat. Come on, look me in the eyes! Dead. Meat."

"Oh, you do?" I teased.

"Of course!" Baekhyun exclaims. Then he wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling and almost choking me. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He jokingly pats my hair like I'm a child and I just let him, sighing out loud. "By the way, don't let those compliments get to you," Baek muttered through my hair. "I'm the only one who tells you the truth anyway."

I frown. "And you don't agree with what they said?" I could barely talk with the way he got his arms around me but I managed.

"Nah," Baekhyun mused. "You're not perfect."

"Of course I'm not perfect!" I argued. "I'm a human being. We're allowed to have flaws."

"Yeah," he nods. "You can't cook."

I pout. "Hey—"

Then I felt a gentle kiss on my hair, making me pause. "But you're my perfect fiance," he whispers. "And my perfect husband-to-be. So I got no problem with that."

I paused as I felt another kiss on my head. Immediately, I felt my heart flutter and my knees go weak like I'm not some stoic CEO like everyone else thinks I am. But my fiance just insulted my 'cooking' so I cleared my throat and pretended not to be swooned. "Was that supposed to make me blush, Byun Baek?" I asked.

Baekhyun pushed me away by the cheeks so he could look at my face closely. "It didn't?" He raised his eyebrows. "You're supposed to be kissing me right now."

"Am I?" I chuckled.

"Yeah," Baekhyun bit his lip, stifling a giggle. "You don't want to?"

And then it happened.

It may be his laugh or the way his eyes twinkled that made me fall for him another mile deeper that very moment. The feeling caught me off guard, like realizing another pit is waiting for you when you thought you already hit the bottom. It was another wave of emotions filling me deep to my core and it's pleasant yet unexpected. The surprise I felt may have showed because Baekhyun's playful smile immediately disappeared and he suddenly looked worried.

"Honey?" He murmurs. "What's the matter?"

I swallowed, clearing my throat and regaining my wits. "N-Nothing..." I whispered back, gently reaching for his face so I could give his cheek a gentle brush. "I love you."

Something about the words may have sounded different because Baekhyun blinked, surprised, and in a split second, his eyes softened. Like he just heard me tell him I love him for the very first time again. Slowly, Byun Baekhyun smiles— the kind that warms my heart. He brushed my cheek gently with his thumb. "I changed my mind," he cocked his head to one side as he stares into my eyes.

"About what?"

"About you... You're not not perfect," he whispered before he kissed the tip of my nose. "And I love you, too, Park Chanyeol."

My fiance was about to say something else but I was already kissing him.

He didn't pull back.

It's quarter past one in the morning when Byun Baekhyun and I decided to head downstairs to the kitchen and make some midnight snack. It's one of those nights when you're still awake past your own bedtime that you find yourself unable to sleep anymore. My fiance and I rummaged through food-filled cabinets and freezers but when we realized no one really wants to cook anything, we just chose an extra large instant ramen we could share. Baekhyun settled on one of the stools around the kitchen counter and I followed him, placing the ramen on the table. Within a second, my fiance is already helping himself with the food.

"This shit tastes good," he grins, still chewing his food. "And I like this brand, too. Let's buy more of this, Park."

"Hey, swallow your food first," I scolded him, reaching over to wipe the noodle soup off the sides of his lips. I licked my fingers then pointed at his clothes. "You even got some on your clothes! What are you?"

"I was hungry!" He kicked the foot of the stool I'm sitting on before giving me a glare.

I glared back and started feasting on the ramen, too. It's still hot but I can't let Baekhyun eat most of the food when I was the one who prepared it-- mainly because he beat me in a game of rock-paper-scissors. We glared at each other for a few more seconds before my fiance remembered the laptop sitting in front of us and he sat up straight, quickly forgetting why we're staring daggers in the first place.

"Oh!" his eyebrows shoot up. "What were you going to show me again?"

"Oh, yeah!" I pulled the laptop close and opened the browser. "I was planning on buying the pets their own collars. And I found this really nice shop on the internet."

Baekhyun leaned closer, eyebrows knitted together as he reached out and scrolled through the designs and the shop's information. "I think I know this place," he mutters, giving me a quick glance. "Kyungsoo mentioned this shop to me before. He said they sell really nice pet accessories."

"I know," I grinned. "And the reviews sounds really good, too."

"What type are you planning to buy, babe?" Baekhyun asked as he rested his chin on one hand, watching me with an amused look. "I'm betting something fancy."

I pout, thinking, before giving the designs another scroll. They are all pretty and expensive. But I don't really like the idea of buying something everyone already saw. "I'm thinking we make the collars customized," I said. "Blue diamonds would be a nice touch and the main collar silver."

For a moment, Baekhyun just pursed his lips, obviously fighting off a laugh. I'm expecting he would say something but then he just continued stuffing his mouth with more ramen as he tried to calm himself. Then he let out this 'pfft' sound so I gave his chair a nudge with my foot.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"You're seriously spoiling them!" he exclaims, letting out a laugh. "If we put diamonds around our pets' necks, sooner or later, thieves would be coming for them. Don't endanger our babies like that, Park!"

"But it's Rain and Peanut!" I argued. "Do you want to put lame gold collars around them?"

"No!" Baekhyun shots back. "B-But-- Diamonds are a little--"

"Come on, Byun Baek," I whined, gesturing at the laptop screen where a picture of a blue diamond embedded on a necklace is projected. "It's really pretty and rare. Besides, you should put your billionaire fiance to use, okay?"

Without waiting for Baekhyun's answer, I started looking for the Prime Pets contact information. They have limited shops here in SoKor and the nearest one is more than an hour drive from here, which sucks because it's really hard to squeeze things into my schedule right now. I was about to copy their phone number when I felt Baekhyun grab my arm.

When I turned to look at him, his eyes are just staring blankly at me. Like he's trying to process his thoughts one by one until they fall into place.

"W-What?" I asked, suddenly concerned. "Baby, are you okay?"

"You're a fucking billionaire?" Baekhyun asked between gritted teeth, his eyes are wide and they are between anger and surprise which didn't make the situation easier to comprehend.

Now, I'm a little confused already. "Well... y-yeah..." I nod slowly.

"Oh, god," Baekhyun closed his eyes and pressed his palm against his face. "I know you're rich," he says. "But I didn't know you are that rich, Park Chanyeol. Now I know why a lot of people hate me! Do you know how many threats I get everyday through email just because I'm marrying you?!" He grumbled. "It's so fucking annoying! How come I didn't know?!"

"Because you never ask!" I exclaimed. "You don't go asking what's my net worth and stuff or how much I make in a day. And what threats? You should tell me those kind of things, Byun Baek. Your safety is always the most important to me. You know that."

"They are all bullshit," Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "And I don't think they're serious anyway."

"Even so," I said, quietly this time. I go over my fiance's face and realize just how much his life changed after he got involved with me. Our family isn't perfect. It's not peaceful either. We have a lot of enemies and marrying Byun Baekhyun would make him their enemy, too. But I'm willing to give up everything if it means it will make Baekhyun happier. All I need is one word from him and I'll follow him anywhere.

My fiance looked back at me, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry I didn't accept the bodyguards you sent for me before," he murmured before averting his gaze. He bit his lip, embarrassed. "I didn't know you were some fucking big shot."

Smiling a little, I gently reached for his hand and intertwined our fingers. "It's fine," I whispered. "We make sure your face doesn't really get published with me anyway."

Baekhyun nodded slowly. "Sorry," he murmurs again.

"It's fine, baby," I slowly leaned forward to plant a kiss on his forehead. "And it's twenty-five billion."

"What?" Baekhyun looks up, frowning.

"My net worth," I chuckled. "So you won't say 'how come I didn't know?' again."

"Oh," my fiance laughed. "All those money and we're here eating instant ramen."

"You're right," I nodded gravely. "It's a tough life." 

A few minutes later, we're already heading up the stairs. I'm holding Baekhyun's hand and was ready to let go when he didn't. He reached for my arm and rested his head on my shoulder as we walked towards our room. 

"You're not painting until sunrise again?" I asked as I opened the door for us. 

"Nah," he whispered. "I won't let you sleep alone tonight." 

That night, I forced myself to stay awake until Byun Baekhyun stepped out of the shower and into my arms. He smells like mint and strawberries and all I did was wrap him in my embrace until I felt his quiet breathing settle into a peaceful rhythm. Baekhyun buried his face against my chest, his arms curled up under his chin as he tucked himself closer to me. 

"Let's visit the shop this weekend," he breathes. "I want to buy them pretty things, too." 

"Sure," I kissed the top of his head. "Good night, love." 

Baekhyun kissed my chest. "Good morning, babe."