Chanyeol could still hear the echo of the door closing after Baekhyun left. He had wanted to leap from his position on the couch when Baekhyun had closed that door, but the ugly monster's named Ego and Pride held him back.

He was too proud to chase after Baekhyun when it should be the other way around. Chanyeol wasn't to blame here; he wasn't the one who broke promises and slept with an ex-boyfriend. He shouldn't have to be the one to apologize first, and yet knowing that, he still felt as if he should have chased Baekhyun down like the actors in romantic movies.

But this wasn't a movie, and Chanyeol refused to be the doting fool —- no matter how hard it was for him not to be.

* * *

The next morning, Chanyeol woke alone. It was a hard thing to adjust to when it's felt like forever that he'd wake up to the citrus scent of Baekhyun's shampoo; or the warmth of his petite frame craddled against Chanyeol's much larger one; or the mornings that Baekhyun would wake Chanyeol up with kisses. He missed it all so desperately his chest hurt and he couldn't think about him without wanting to cry.

Chanyeol was so incredibly in love, he was surprised he had even allowed Baekhyun to leave the dorm building yesterday. But he had, and now he had to face the consequences of turning away the one person he needed to breathe.

Chanyeol's days blurred together without the gentle sounds of Baekhyun's laughter to cut through the hazy of mundanity. Everything was bland and colorless again; his world had been reduced to black and white with little shades of grey to paint a world that was usually bright and blooming with every color in the paint box. Chanyeol had been reduced to the man he was before meeting Baekhyun, and the only thing he had to get himself through his classes was his memories; that dulled considerably in comparison to the real thing.

The little voice in the back of Chanyeol's head would continuously ask the same questions of: "Why don't you go to him? Why don't you apologize if you're in so much pain without him? Pride shouldn't stand in front of love."

But unfortunately for Chanyeol, it did. He was still too set on the fact that Baekhyun had to be the one to apologize first, and he didn't see himself changing his mind in regards to that any time soon.

* * *

Chanyeol was laying on the couch in the living and staring unseeingly at the TV, lost as to what he was watching. Although he did think it might be some kind of drama, since the TV had been switched to the station Baekhyun could happily eat popcorn to all day long.

Chanyeol sighed at the thought as his cruel mind dug up a memory of them watching dramas on a Saturday night. Chanyeol was never interested, and would instead happily spend his time teasing and annoying Baekhyun. It was a warm memory that brought a weak smile to his downcast expression.

As he continued to stare unseeingly at the TV —- munching on a bowl of popcorn he had made and placed on the floor, so he could easily reach inside and eat —- Taemin came out of his room dressed in black jeans and what looked to be a dark blue silk button-up shirt tucked into his waistband. His hair was done up and swept across his forehead nicely; he also had on, as Chanyeol could tell, a hint of make-up.

Chanyeol had never seen his brother look so dressed up, and for the first time in two days he had life pour back into his face as he sat up and asked, "Why are you all dressed up? Are you....are you going on a date?"

Taemin pursed his lips and crossed his arms as he snappily replied, "So what if I am? What's it to you?"

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. "Jeez, don't get your panties in a twist, I was just curious . . ." Chanyeol muttered with a huff as he redirected his attention back to the television.

Taemin sighed and dropped his arms as he moved to seat down. "Sorry," he mumbled. "And yes, I have a date tonight. I . . . Um, will you be okay if I'm gone for a few hours?"

Chanyeol rolled his eyes again. "Just because Baek and I are on a break and I'm moppy doesn't make me suicidal, Taemin. So you can stop your pointless worrying."

"It's called caring, Chanyeol, but if you'd rather I didn't then whatever," Taemin said just as there was a knock on the door.

Chanyeol watched as Taemin's face lit up and he practically jumped from his seat as he hurried to answer the door.

Chanyeol gagged at the sight, and Taemin shot him a nasty look before saying, "Fuck you!"

"No, thanks," Chanyeol grumbled with a frown.

Taemin sighed at his behavior, and rolled his eyes before finally answering the door. He smiled up at his date and held his hand out as his asked, "Would you like to come in for a moment? You can meet my brother if you'd like."

Taemin's date smiled too and nodded before saying, "Sure, I'd love to meet your brother."

Taemin beamed as he lead his date into their apartment dorm, and gestured to Chanyeol with a bright smile as he said, "Minho, this is my brother, Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Minho."

Chanyeol forced a smile as he said, "Hey, lovely to meet you."

Taemin pursed his lips at the obvious sarcasm he could hear dripping from his brother's every word, and irritated and hurt that he didn't care, Taemin decided he didn't care either and blurted, "Sorry, you'll have to excuse my brother's sarcasm. You see, it's merely a protection since his ex-boyfriend cheated on him with his ex-fiancé. So you can probably imagine his humiliation and need for sarcasm." Taemin had said, and after each uttered word the air only grew thicker until not even a knife would stand a chance against cutting through it.

Taemin's eyes slowly began to widen once he realized what he'd said, and hurriedly tried to correct it as he cried, "Chanyeol, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I—-"

"Save it, Taemin, you knew exactly what you were doing," Chanyeol snapped before storming to his room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Taemin cringed, and Minho awkwardly shifted from foot to foot before muttering, "Maybe we should have our date some other night . . ."

Taemin sighed. "Would you feel too awkward if we just hung out here? I can make us popcorn and we can watch a movie?"

Minho nodded with a slight smile and replied, "That'd be nice, let's do that."

Taemin smiled too before going into the kitchen to make them some popcorn, while Taemin had asked Minho to pick a movie. Halfway into the movie, Chanyeol came back out of his room and settled on the chair to finish watching the rest of the movie with his brother and his date; Taemin and Chanyeol making up with a small smile and nod.

Word count: 1,299

~ 🌸 ~

A/N: ☹️ Poor Chanyeol.

How much longer do you think Baekhyun and Chanyeol's silence will last, and once it ends, what comes next . . .? Read to find out!

Thank you so much for your support, and please, I wish all of you a lovely day/night! Hugs! 🤗😊

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️