Baekhyun tried to concentrate on the task in front of him, he never normally has any issues when food is involved. His brain however wont let him. Even the simple task of deciding on what canapés to have at the Tutankhamun opening.  All because he keeps drifting to the kiss he was given from Chanyeol, said kiss that was 3 days ago. He wasn't going to deny that it felt good, because it felt amazing. "You know that goofy smile is so refreshing," Baekhyun puts down the catering menu, and raises his eyes to his best friend. "Hyunie what brings you all the way down here" watching as his best friend swans in too his office. "A  little, well tall bird told me of a date tonight." Baekhyun slightly shocked and hopeful, but at the same time he was trying desperately to be rational "Jongdae is such a gossip queen." Watching as Sehun's face alights with a smile, "not our favourite troll, my brother told me, he messaged and told me in person on the day he acted all caveman." A smile forms on Baekhyun's lips, perhaps this means Chanyeol is serious about them! It's a familiar yet long missed feeling of excitement that is bubbling within him, it's a welcome change from the usual sadness. "Well that is definitely unexpected, Sehun listen" "Please Baekie, I've seen you look so forlorn under that mask of yours. My memories of you being truly happy, are when we were at university. Now I know why, you were in love. My brother was an idiot, but he truly has had some demons to fight, and I know that in his heart, he loves you." Baekhyun's heart was hammering, it's all he ever wanted! It's true what he said when he last saw the idiot, he doesn't hate him. For the first time it's refreshing to be able to freely say it, and not feel that familiar loathing course through him, when he admits to himself that he has always loved Chanyeol. "Sehun, I am sorry I never, no sorry that we never trusted you back then, with our relationship, please know that Chanyeol has and will always been special to me." It is then that he notices the smile Sehun has, it's knowing, and almost secretive " I know, sadly I can't stay and chat, I have dropped the mock up of the exhibition catalogue, it's going to be amazing I'm so proud of you, good luck tonight" Baekhyun smiles at his friend as he swans off, as quick as he arrived!

Its some time later when he senses someone watching him, subtle hints of sandalwood and earl grey surround him. Smiling at the familiar and wanted scent, he raises his head to greet Chanyeol. His eyes widen at the vison of masculine beauty before him. Chanyeol's  long legs are encased in expensive tailored trousers, his broad chest hidden under a black silk shirt. A dark burgundy Jacket, that he recognises as the Prada jacket he has been lusting after himself, finishes off the look. His hair in that trademark quiff, still as sable haired as he was 5 years ago. He wonders if that six pack is still as defined as it was 5 years ago! His happy daydream is cut off by Chanyeol saying "Sehun wasn't kidding when he said I would find you here still at this hour." Baekhyun's cheeks heat  in embarrassment, perhaps Chen has a point about cutting back, when he realises the time! "I had hoped to change before our date tonight, I'm sorry time is not always my friend" he watches as Chan tilts his head and slowly drags his eyes up and down his body. "You look amazing Baekhyun, your style has always been impeccable, now we must go or we will be late for the reservation I have made." He watches as Chanyeol turns, gifting him a fine view of his ass, groaning as he realises that tonights dinner is going to kill him.

"Sehun wasn't kidding when he said you had been open with him, I have been trying to get a table here, to celebrate the gallery's success and was told there were no reservations available for weeks. I have only been here once, and that was with Sehun. The food is to die for! I've been so busy I forgot this was in a hotel your family owns, I should of just asked Sandra." Chanyeol couldn't help but chuckle at Baekhyun, who from the moment of their arrival at Itsuki had stars in his eyes. When they were escorted to a private room kitted out with their own teppanyaki grill and tatami table, Baekhyun resembled a blow fish, a very, very good loooking blowfish! Platinum hair perfectly styled, his trademark eyeliner and blue contacts, tight  fitting black Jeans and ice blue shirt, god he was sex on legs. Shaking his head at yet again more inappropriate thoughts, he tries to refocus on the man in front of him, who he hopes will enjoy the lobster sashimi, snow crab and Kobe beef he has arranged. Chanyeol makes a mental note to thank his brother. "It's not just Sehun, I should of done this years ago, believe me it was a hard pill to swallow, when i realised what a fucked up situation I all but forced you into." He discreetly sends a nod to the waiter to bring out some drinks, as he knows this conversation, will require liquid courage. He watches as Baek's cute nose scrunch up in confusion as whiskey tumblr's are placed in front of them. "Please Chanyeol, you didn't force me in to anything, I didn't want myself" Taking in some oxygen, he reaches across for a pale warm delicate hand, hoping that Baekhyun won't recoil. "It was so very wrong, that I didn't fight for you, please I never meant anything I said" pleased that Baekhyun doesn't snatch away his hand, he continues on "I want to tell you what happened, I need to as I want this to work Baekhyun, please will you listen." He waits for what feels like an eternity, but is mere seconds for Baekhyun to nod his head, surprised when he feels the hand he's holding, squeeze his ever so gently.

"The whole marriage with Maria, it was all down to her. At the time I believed it was a deal between our parents, to secure her fathers backing." Chanyeol watches Baekhyun as he nods "i remember you mentioned the hotel in our fight." "At the time I believed my Father was behind it, it was like he became this whole other person. I was told about the wedding the day of our fight, then everything happened so fast" Chanyeol shudders as he remembers how he and his father went toe to toe fighting with each other, both screaming some pretty viscous things. He will always be thankful, they forgave each other, their relationship now, stronger then ever, and that Sehun and their mother were not around to witness it. "I cant understand why you would think that, when I read about the announcement, 3 days after our fight, it was like reading a love story!" Looking at Baekhyun, he can see the hurt still lingering in his features, he takes a sip of the whiskey in front of him, his nerves need that calming warmth only a a good dose of alcohol can bring. "I know, looking back the announcement was so well placed, I didn't see Maria until the day of our sham wedding. No one would tell me anything, before I knew it we were at the registry office, we married in front of just our fathers. It should of been my first clue, no massive party, no big white wedding. "I glad that didn't happen Chanyeol, my heart was broken enough"

Chanyeol winces as the hurt in Baekhyun's eyes morphs in too fire. He decides best to head on. "Straight after the wedding we boarded a flight to New York on her father's jet. The work Maria was booked for, was probably the only true thing the papers printed" he feels Baekhyun release his hand and lower his head in an almost whisper "tell me something you were married for the better part of 5 years, be honest you owe me this much, did you sleep with her!"

Bowing his head, before he looks in too the eyes of the love of his life. He doesn't like what he sees, there's a desperation he never wants to see in his eyes, a lone tear falls down baekhyun's cheek. Remembering he needs to be honest "yes,"  his heart shatters in to tiny pieces, hearing the sob that leaves Baekhyun mouth. "Please know that i thought of you all the time, all I wanted was you." "Why sleep with her, that doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, knowing your getting cake and eating it. Whilst I'm left to wallow in despair." Aware what he says next will either make or break them, "the truth, I was lonely at first,  then I started picturing you more and more, to the point where nothing but my memory of you could get me off."  "That's rich considering, you didn't think very highly of my inexperience, the last time we saw each other." Chanyeol grabs Beak's hand desperately and squeezes it tighter, " I will never forgive my self for what I said" desperate to stop Baekhyun from laughing at how pathetic he is, "I found your emails, they were the catalyst to the worst time of my life"

He waits with bated breath for the inevitable scramble away from him, but is surprised when Baekhyun doesn't move. Instead of the scramble and screams he was expecting, he feels the lightest of touch on his hand again. He raises his eyes to looks at baekhyun. He is amazed  to see he is looking right back at him with tears rolling down his face. "Please I know fighting like this is getting us know where. I can see the sorrow in your eyes, and have done so every time I have seen you, what are you not telling me." He can see Baek is trying to be  so strong, he truly is in awe of his strength, having lost so much in his 25 years of life. Knowing that he is probably a big part in his suffering, its truly incredible to him, that Baekhyun hasn't crumpled more than that one time Sehun told him of.

"It was about 2 years in too our marriage, Maria was away on some retreat, I was on my laptop working late. That's  when a notification about a bank deposit from my father popped up. At first I thought my father had deposited funds by accident, I was waiting for the go ahead to order materials for a redesigned bar. I then checked the account, and found the same transaction for every month we had been married. Our laptops were synced, so I didn't need a password.  Not understanding why my father was depositing cash, I did some snooping. Thats when I came across your emails, and an audio file, it wasn't dated but I recognised the content! You can hear my name being chanted, heavy breathing, it's clear that what she managed to tape were intimate moments " Oh my god, what are you saying,"  "i hacked in too her email and found a folder with at least 10 emails to my father. She was blackmailing him, she believed I was paying boys for underage sex, she followed me to the university you were at." "She has an audio file of us having sex, doesn't she."  He can only sigh and nod, taking a second sip of whiskey "I believe she doesn't know that it's you." he watches as Baek sits up straighter, picks his own tumbler up, knocking back the whiskey in one go "that doesn't make this better." "I know that Baekhyun, when I asked my father about it, he confirmed that it was true, Maria had compelled my Father into believing i was paying 18 year old boys, boys for sexual pleasure! That she wouldn't report me to the police, if I married her and went with her to the US. She wasn't happy with just that, she got greedy. The emails and bank transactions, I found  showed she blackmailed my family out over 2 million won!

"It got ugly, when I confronted her and asked for a divorce, Maria morphed in to this harpy. I no longer recognised the friend, I believed she was. Then my mother found out, she wasn't happy, she very nearly left my father. My father explained that with Maria's  father as the senator,  he was afraid that the Kim family would use their own connections and I would be arrested! He believed Maria at first was trying to be the friend she portrayed she was. I understand now that he was trying to protect me. It wasn't about me being gay." Aware that he too has tears in his eyes, he grabs on to those delicate fingers tightly. "Maria refused to accept the divorce, did everything she could think of to keep me, she was like a woman possessed. One night she found the photo Sehun gave me of you, Maria snapped, she threatened she was going to go to the Media with her story, i tried to stop her. It was difficult, I didn't want to hurt her, she had been drinking, she grabbed the empty bottle, that was on the kitchen counter. From what I can recall; she meant to throw the bottle at the wall. It missed the wall and my head, but  I ended up in the hospital with a glass bottle stuck in the side of my chest! He chokes slightly at the memory, he doesn't need to look at Baekhyun to know his eyes will be filled with horror. "It was bad I had to be operated on, I had 30 stitches" he hears the gasp Baeks let's out, but continues on.

"It was around the same time my parents and Sehun, heard your confession and were horrified. So as result they all flew out to help make my divorce happen. I confessed that we had been having a private relationship, and that what between us was consensual. Being 21 you were not underage, i broke down advising that I still loved you. That the wedding and being in the US, tore us apart. I didn't tell Sehun or my mum, about the fight we had. I told my father to make him understand why I said such awful things. It was an emotional time, my mother stayed on to help me heal." "With my dads help I got the divorce I had been trying to get for a year, Maria was scared  I was about to go to the police, so she signed the divorce papers, she got no settlement. I took out a restraining order to keep her away, I finally flew home to Seoul about 14 days ago."

Beakhyun was stunned, he never imagined this. He couldn't believe it, he had been separated from the one true love of his life. All because of some posh floozy blinded, by jealousy and greed. That both of them had suffered all because she couldn't accept Chanyeol, as just a friend. He can feel how much his heart hurts for the man in front of him. Yes Chanyeol hurt him, but when he remembers the feeling of being abandoned. He realises he also didn't do enough to fight back,  a couple emails are so easily misplaced! Some lover he is, and he is best friends with his brother! He had ample opportunity to fix it. He could of opened up to Sehun, asked their Mother for help, Sandra knew he was gay even then, even now Sandra is the only parent figure in his life. It hurts knowing he was as much to blame for the fall out of their relationship! His pain is so small in comparison to Chanyeol, no one should have to fight like he had. His whole body demands he love this giant man who has been hurt so much. He takes a good look at Chanyeol, the  vulnerability in his eyes is so potent, it almost makes him cry. He always assumed Chanyeol was happy, he can't believe how wrong he was!

Unable to stand the distance any more, thankful that Chanyeol arranged a private room. He lets the tears fall and let's out a desperate sob as he clambers across the table, not caring about the whiskey tumbler he sends flying. He launches himself at Chanyeol, thankful that familiar arms are quick to catch his less then dignified attack. He takes in a deep breath, inhaling that familiar scent he has missed. "Sshhh Ive got you, it's ok shhh," aware of what he just did, and that he is straddling Chanyeol, he tries to pull away when arms tighten around him. He can hear crying, looking up at Chanyeol he can see a small shy smile and tears streaming. It's all he needs, he will not allow this man to crumble and suffer anymore. Knowing exactly what will make the tears stop, "it should be me comforting you, Yeolie."

Baekhyun watches as Chanyeol's eyes change from vulnerable to disbelief, "you have no idea how long I have waited to here you say that." Sniffling as he snuggles in to Chanyeol's silk shirt, as Chanyeol rubs small circles on his back. "I'm so so very sorry you suffered alone Chanyeol. I was so blinded by my own selfishness, I never considered you were suffering to." He feels a light kiss on his hair, "Oh Baekhyun, I only wish I could make one change in all this, and that is that I never said those awful things to you that night, I was such a fool." Baekhyun clings onto Chanyeol  harder, about to ask for forgiveness. He will beg on his knees if he has to! When Chanyeol's soothing voice speaks "please I know I'm asking a lot to be a part of your life, your my soulmate Baekhyun let's do this right." It's all it takes for the flood gates to open, releasing Chanyeol's shirt, he sits up so he can face the man he always will love! Not wanting to miss the look on Chanyeol's face, when he says what he has been wanting to say for years. "Yes sweetheart, its all I ever wanted" smiling through his tears, he notices Chanyeol's beautiful face light up in joy, as he slams his lips against Chanyeol's.

I hope this chapter helps answer some questions. my thanks to everyone reading this. As always comments and feedback are welcome x