+ ten

Baekhyun was looking for Chanyeol when he finished his schedules for the night. He had heard the taller boy saying to Kyungsoo that he would be staying in one of the studios, working on a project for an hour. Baekhyun had to stay back extra hours with extra vocal rehearsals and acting lessons for EXO Next Door because he would be singing the OST. Sehun, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo's schedules were nearly as hectic, but Baekhyun needed to stay behind three extra hours. 

He knew that Chanyeol should have been back in the dorms by then. But as he checked the lounge room and the last bedroom in their hallway, which Chanyeol had taken as his own, he found both of them to be empty.

The EXO vocalist now suspected that Chanyeol was with Narda, and it made his blood boil with jealousy. Chanyeol could spend all the time he wanted with her, while Baekhyun couldn't even get close to her. As he turned to leave Chanyeol's room--his friend rarely locked his door, even when he wasn't around because he was always prone to losing his keys and didn't want to go through the trouble of picking the lock--something on the desk caught his eye. It was a notebook open to a page with messy writing on it. There were things written in blue ink, while things crossed out in red stood out. Baekhyun gathered that it was a song his friend was writing.

At the top was a name for the song. Jagiya.

He immediately knew the song was for Guti. He returned further into the room and stopped in front of the desk. In plain sight he could see the open notebook and he began reading the sloppily written lyrics on the page.

Jagiya,
All of the lights in Heaven
Are Nothing
When they're compared to you.
You passed me by
Like a wandering tune

And now I'm here,
To let you know
I love you.

Jagiya
You're brighter than the moonlight
That passes
Wanting only to flourish

Jagiya,
I'm tempted,
My darling, to kiss
your sweet lips.

A thought flashed in Baekhyun's mind--to rip the page out and tear it to shreds. But even through his anger, he had to admit that it was a good song. Curiosity got the best of him and he flipped through the pages of the notebook. He had already written about an album's worth of songs for her. Baekhyun figured that was the special project he was working on in the studio after hours. Maybe he was going to record them and put them in a CD for her to have as a present.

Baekhyun heaved a sigh and returned to his room, knowing himself defeated already. 

He sat on his bed with his phone in hand, and he opened the last few conversations he had with Narda through text messages. She was always happy, smiling, and sent him little pictures throughout her day telling him that she missed him even if she had seen him a little while earlier. She had a similar personality to Baekhyun. That's why they got on so well.

The very last text he got from her was from when she went to visit her family over winter break. She was at a football game with them and her friend Oriana. 

His eyes widened as an idea came to him. He had her phone number, and if she didn't want to talk to him, maybe he could text her and tell her everything that really happened. A smile formed on his lips as he composed a text message to her.

baekhyun: guti, baby...

error: message not sent.
resend?
message resent.
error: message not sent.

baekhyun: guti...?
error: message not sent
resend? 

Baekhyun clicked on the phone call option and waited as the phone rang. It rang once before an automated machine replied to him. I'm sorry, the number you have dialed has recently blocked you. If this is a mistake, please hang up and contact your carrier. The call then went dead, leaving Baekhyun on the phone by himself. But he knew it was no mistake. Narda had likely blocked him because she was hurt over what he did.

Instead of waiting in his room for his group mate to return, Baekhyun waited in the lounge room. It was close to the back staircase and one could easily hear when someone arrived on their floor. 

When he heard footsteps down the hall, he pushed himself off the couch and went to check for Chanyeol. It was his group mate, with a big grin plastered across his face, which could only mean one thing. He had to have been with Guti to be so happy upon his return. He saw Baekhyun and his eyes were instantly filled with hints of resentment. The two boys had patched things up, but only because Guti wanted them to. Had it been for the two of them, they'd have stopped speaking to each other altogether.

"Where were you?" Baekhyun wondered, trying to pass off his question as a casual one. He was also making it seem as though he didn't really know where his friend was.

Chanyeol heaved a sigh. "Nowhere."

"Then why do you look so happy?" Baekhyun insisted on getting the truth out of him with another question.

The taller of the two boys thought about it for a moment. "I guess I should tell you now before you find out through someone else."

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at him with curiosity.

"Guti and I are dating now." He informed Baekhyun and the words managed to make the vocalist's heart drop. He would of course leave out the part where she had explained to him that she wanted something unofficial for the time being--with no strings attached. 

Baekhyun swallowed the lump in his throat and his hand balled up into a fist. That was the worst bit of news he could have ever gotten because it meant that Yena was right. Guti was tired of waiting for him, and Chanyeol was there to swoop in. Guti had chosen to forget him after what he did to her, and he knew he couldn't expect otherwise. 

She loved him, and he let her down.

-

For the next month, EXO was busy at variety shows and music performances for their upcoming tour. They also had promo videos and advertisement photo shoots to go to, as well as the filming for EXO Next Door and the recording of the OST. Chanyeol was at his happiest, since his relationship with Guti was going well. He had written her an entire album and was in the works with his managers, trying to pitch the solo debut to SM's top executives. 

The date for the Mariachi festival in Busan soon came around as well and Chanyeol had been planning his excuse for weeks. The other boys would be making their come back for the Exodus album on Music Bank, and then they would be performing their first concert for the Exoplanet #2 tour, which would kick off in Seoul.

Chanyeol had been hinting all week. A sore throat, a headache, body aches. And on the Friday they were to perform on Music Bank he faked a fever. Since the tour would kick off with four performances at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena, the management of EXO had gotten them rooms at a five star hotel right across the street from there, to avoid them the trouble of travelling back and forth for five days. When the managers saw how pale--special effects make up done by Nari--he looked, they decided to let him stay in the dorms by himself.

The EXO rapper was overjoyed with the news. Five days to himself, to spend with Guti. He wouldn't even be needing all of them. The festival was Friday to Sunday, then he could fake a miraculous recovery and perform at the two final concerts in Seoul Monday and Tuesday. He had complimentary tickets from the agency, which he was going to use to invite his parents, his sister Yoora, and Guti.

The moment the group left the dorms with enough clothes in their luggage for a whole week, Chanyeol jumped out of bed and packed his own belongings. Then he texted Guti to make sure she was ready to go.

chanyeol: jagi, u ready for busan? :D

thelittleliar<3: in a minute :p

thelittleliar<3: i just want to make sure i have
everything before i lock the apartment. lol

chanyeol: im calling a cab to get us to the 

train station :)

thelittleliar<3: okay, see u soon channie :*

By the time he saw Narda leaving her apartment with her luggage, he had been waiting there in the cab for about twenty minutes. The driver was starting to get impatient, but Chanyeol had promised him a big tip afterwards. He was inside the cab wearing a baggy sweatshirt, jeans, a mask and sunglasses, as was his usual attire when he went out with Guti. It was per her request, since people were still harassing her for stalking Baekhyun and she didn't want any more trouble.

He quickly jumped out of the cab and helped her get her things in the trunk, and he waited anxiously until they entered the cab before he pulled his black mask down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. 

"How was work today, jagi?" He asked her.

No matter how boring or monotonous she claimed her job was at times, he loved hearing about it. Chanyeol thought she could have read a page off the dictionary and it would have sounded absolutely amazing. Narda slid her purse off her shoulder and set it down between them, heaving a sigh as the cab started moving.

"The usual, Chan." She said to him with disinterest. She was normally very passionate and excited about her job. But ever since her arrest after the misunderstanding with Baekhyun's wallet, many of the parents had banded together and were demanding to not only get her kicked out of work, but out of the country as well. Their claim was that she was a bad influence on their children. She shifted in her seat to look at him, forcing a smile onto her face, which didn't take much work to do. Spending all that time with Chanyeol was doing wonders for her. "Why don't you tell me how your day went instead?"

But Chanyeol wouldn't let it go. His eyebrows furrowed, displeased by the thought that anyone would belittle her. "If anyone tells you anything, you just let me know and I'll fix it." He said, already making plans in his mind to go talk to her boss at the school. He would tolerate no one messing with Narda.

She smiled softly at him, bringing a hand up to cup the side of his face. "Its okay, Channie. You don't have to step in every time I have a problem."

He jutted put his bottom lip in exaggeration. "I want to."

"Lets not argue." She giggled as she grabbed him by the ears playfully and shook his head, causing him to laugh as well. "Lets just think about the three days in Busan at the Mariachi festival together. Plus, I heard Busan is near the beach, and its been so long since I've seen the beach." Ever since she was back home all those months ago. The little things that she took for granted there, she now missed while in Korea.

He kissed her on the lips again and informed her with excitement, his plans to defend her from everyone were long gone in his mind, but not forgotten. They were merely stored for another time in which he might want to use them. "You'll like going there by train. It has a great view. Have you ever taken the train, Guti?"

She gave a shake of her head. "Not a cross country train, only the city transit trains in Los Angeles. And they're kinda...sketchy." She crinkled up her nose.

Chanyeol grinned, happy that her first train ride in Korea was with him. And his first Mariachi festival was with her. He knew they were going to have a great time together. He had their tickets, their hotel was booked, and for the next three days, he wouldn't have to worry about anything else but Guti.

-

some chan and narda fluff for all the chuti (chan+guti) shippers out there. i still ship baekrankin though, so dont think there wont be a glorious byun come back in the near future. thank you all so much for reading and supporting my stories. i also know i havent updated this in a long time.

but i've been busy with work, so please bear with me. 

i hope you're all having a wonderful week!

-clary