Written in the Stars
Written in the Stars
Chanyeol/Baekhyun, Kai/Kyungsoo
2857 words, PG-13, fluff/AU
The appearance of a 13th zodiac sign makes the world of horoscope writer Chanyeol tilt on its axis.
a/n: Written for aideshou (prompt ii: b'shert - (n) destiny; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly). Voting post here (if you're looking for stuff to read, there are 21 submissions for this round!).
The day Chanyeol met his soulmate was the worst day of his life.
It started inconspicuously enough with him getting out of bed, washing his face, and sitting in front of his laptop. He was clad in a well-worn sleep shirt and his favorite pair of socks with alien design, his curly hair sticking up in all directions, as he checked his e-mail and mentally organized his tasks for the day. Chanyeol worked as codename Happy Virus, the horoscope writer for an online dating website.
It was when he was browsing his favorite astrology website that a large yellow popup appeared on his browser and changed his life forever. "New Zodiac Sign Appears Because of Earth's Rotation!" it said in giant neon green letters.
Chanyeol clicked on the link and felt his world tilt on its axis. He shook his head, making a few of his curls drift in front of his eyes, as he scanned the full content of the article. Five minutes later, he was as pale as a ghost and his fingernails were down to nubs from his nervous nibbling.
"Breakfast is ready." His flatmate, Kyungsoo, entered the room, looking way too put together for this early in the morning. His t-shirt looked like it had been ironed, and there was an apron tied around his waist. Chanyeol prided himself in his disorganized chaos-which extended to his rumpled clothing choices-and Kyungsoo's neatness often infuriated him, but today he was too distraught to make a comment.
"Reading your horoscope again? Isn't the fact that you can write your own horoscope enough?" Kyungsoo tsked at him. "How many times do I have to tell you those things aren't real? And don't use that old gimmick of yours, ‘But, Kyungsoo, we met because my horoscope urged me to go to the bookstore that day!' I'm not falling for that anymore. Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo waved his hand in front of Chanyeol's face. "Are you okay, Chanyeol?"
Chanyeol didn't even blink. "Kyungsoo," he managed to croak out, reaching blindly for Kyungsoo's hand.
Kyungsoo gulped. "What happened? Did you...receive bad news?"
Chanyeol nodded solemnly, his eyes still glued to his laptop screen. "The stars," he said. "They've shifted."
"You're kidding, right?" Jongin rubbed at his still tired eyelids as he stretched his long limbs on the living room sofa. "You did not just call me saying there was an emergency, only to tell me when I get here that I'm no longer a Capricorn, I'm a Sagittarius. What the fuck? I was in bed. Sleeping. After being at dance practice all night." He eyed Kyungsoo and Chanyeol warily.
"Don't you see?" Chanyeol asked in hushed tones. He gripped the side of the sofa. "The world is ending-"
"Kyungsoo, did you let him watch 2012 again?" Jongin inhaled sharply. "I told you to watch your doomsday movies by yourself. Chanyeol's too gullible."
"I did not!" Kyungsoo yelled.
"Stop interrupting me. And I'm not gullible. I'm just...emotionally driven." Chanyeol frowned at Jongin. "Anyway, that's not it. I..." He sighed. "Guys, my love life is over. I might as well be celibate forever." He moaned into Kyungsoo's shoulder.
Jongin pretended to cough. "Did you or did you not have sex with that Japanese guy you were flirting with at the club the other night? Because, if I'm not mistaken, being celibate means no butt action."
"Oh, my virgin ears." Kyungsoo shot Jongin a dark look.
"Give me a break. I wasn't even talking dirty."
Chanyeol ignored them both and clung to Kyungsoo's waist. "You guys just don't get it. This is serious! I'm not even a normal person anymore!"
Jongin smirked. "Like that's news."
Kyungsoo shushed Jongin. "He didn't mean that, Chanyeol."
Chanyeol wasn't listening. "I'm an Ophiuchus now. My life is over!"
He paused for effect, but Kuyngsoo and Jongin merely stared at him.
"The ostracized 13th sign!" Chanyeol's voice went a pitch lower than usual. "I am having an identity crisis!" He started pacing around the room. "Everything I've known about myself doesn't matter anymore. How will I ever find my soulmate when I don't even know who I am?" He moaned pitifully. "There aren't even any signs compatible with Ophiuchus yet."
Jongin burst into laughter. Kyungsoo didn't join him, but Chanyeol thought he heard him muffle a snort.
Chanyeol turned a sad face towards them. "This is serious! Now I'm going to spend the rest of my life wondering if I'd let The One go because I thought his sign was incompatible with mine. Oh my god. What if it had been Kris from Club Exo?"
"That guy was an asshole. He was even hitting on Kyungsoo, and you know how no one wants to hit on Kyungsoo," Jongin said, shaking his head, his eyes showing his concern.
"I do too, get hit on," Kyungsoo protested, his ears turning red from the effort. "God, why do I even bother being friends with you? Chanyeol, tell him to shut up. Tell him he's not going to the club with us later. He's banned."
Chanyeol smiled faintly at his two bickering friends. "Never mind, you guys. I'm just...staying at home tonight. I need to reflect on this." He sighed. "I might as well prepare myself for being forever alone."
Jongin and Kyungsoo immediately stopped fighting and looked at each other.
"Oh no, you don't." Jongin rolled his eyes. "We are taking you out tonight. Right, Kyungsoo?"
"Right!" Kyungsoo smiled at Chanyeol and took his hand in his. "You'll meet lots of boys and have fun. Try something new this time: don't ask anyone for their zodiac sign! Trust me, you'll do great."
Chanyeol sighed. "I'm not really in the mood to go out. Why would I even want to ask anyone their zodiac sign? I'm an Ophiuchus now. I'm a freak."
"Who said anything about clubbing?" Kyungsoo had a determined look on his face that had Chanyeol mentally bracing himself. "We're having dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant." Kyungsoo's tone had an air of finality about it. "You can make fun of the fortune cookies."
Chanyeol bit his lip and considered this. He did like making fun of the cryptic messages in fortune cookies. How some people believed them over horoscopes made him wonder.
"And." Kyungsoo paused significantly. "You can, um, help me find my soulmate. You know how horrible I am at flirting."
Jongin snorted, but he quieted down at a stern look from Kyungsoo.
Chanyeol brightened just a little bit. "I am good at matchmaking."
Jongin snorted again.
"Yeah." Kyungsoo smiled gently. "You don't want me to end up forever alone, do you?" He squeezed Chanyeol's palm. "You'll help me find someone tonight, right?"
Chanyeol often squabbled with Kyungsoo, but in reality, he was really weak against him, which was why he ended up going to a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant with his two friends that night. The place was cozy, and only a few people other than them were there. At their table, he and Jongin sat in adjacent chairs while Kyungsoo sat across from Jongin. They ordered lo mein and wonton noodle soup and all sorts of dumplings, but it was the arrival of the fortune cookies that finally had Chanyeol breaking into a smile.
He was practically bursting with excitement as Kyungsoo handed him his fortune cookie before giving Jongin his and keeping the one that was left to himself. "Let's all open them together," Chanyeol announced.
Jongin rolled his eyes. Chanyeol knew he honestly couldn't be bothered, but Jongin surprised him by breaking his cookie open at the same time Kyungsoo and Chanyeol did.
"You have an admirer," Chanyeol read aloud from Jongin's paper. "Kyungsoo, tell us yours!"
"It's just something silly," Kyungsoo said. He was blushing.
"Read it! Read it!" Chanyeol demanded.
"Just read it to shut him up," Jongin practically growled.
Kyungsoo hesitated, but he seemed to have decided on something because he exhaled and opened his mouth to speak. "The love of your life is sitting across from you."
There was a short silence in which Jongin's and Kyungsoo's eyes met before they both looked away.
"Okay," Chanyeol said. "Mine is, 'If you never give up on love, it will never give up on you.'"
"They're all useless love quotes," Jongin said, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Chanyeol nodded his head. "They're just self-fulfilling prophecies."
"Like horoscopes," Jongin said mildly.
Chanyeol ignored him. "For example, I've been worried all day about not finding my soulmate, which is why the content of my fortune cookie understandably makes me feel a little hopeful. As for Kyungsoo's, well, he obviously likes you too, Jongin, so even if what the fortune cookie says is merely a coincidence, Kyungsoo's heart is set on you and interprets it as being right." There was a mad gleam in his eyes as he delivered the last words. He felt energized, invincible. He loved it when he was right. For a moment, it didn't even matter that the stars had shifted and he was destined to be alone forever.
"Kyungsoo likes me?" Jongin's voice broke into Chanyeol's internal happy dance.
There was an awkward silence punctuated only by Kyungsoo's sharp intake of breath. Chanyeol promptly fell back down to earth. "Oops?"
"I hate you, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo said, his voice calm and steady. He stood up. "I'm almost sorry I insisted we take you out. Just for that, you're footing my part of the bill."
"Wait, Kyungsoo, I didn't mean to say that! I mean, I did, but not that way. I mean, I'm right, but..." His voice trailed off uselessly. Kyungsoo had already walked away, heading towards the exit with short but brisk steps.
Beside Chanyeol, Jongin sighed. "He's still oblivious to the fact that I like him back, isn't he?"
"He can be oblivious like that, yeah," Chanyeol said without any bite. "Oh god. I totally messed up. This day sucks." He buried his head in his hands and moaned. "If you hate me too, I will give up city living and become a hermit."
Jongin sighed again. "My best friends are idiots," he muttered under his breath. He placed some bills on the table. "Go home after you're done eating. I'd better go after him."
And just like that, Jongin was gone and Chanyeol was left to deal with his misery, which had come back twofold after the whole cookie fiasco, alone. "This is all because the stars shifted," he mumbled to himself. It was true too. If they hadn't shifted, Chanyeol would still be a Sagittarius. He wouldn't have had an identity crisis, and Kyungsoo wouldn't have had to bring him here.
But while he was here, there was no reason not to wallow in misery properly. He eyed the remains of Kyungsoo's wonton noodle soup, shrugged, and helped himself to the leftover wonton. "Waiter!" he called. "Do you have any alcohol?"
The waiter who approached his table was in a changshan-style shirt and slacks that looked like Kyungsoo had ironed them himself. Chanyeol thought about commenting on it, but he decided against it and just looked on as the waiter poured him a drink without him having to ask. Chanyeol watched the liquor swishing around in his glass before downing the shot. He sighed.
"Rough day?" the waiter asked him.
Chanyeol blinked at him and took in the rest of his physical appearance for the first time. He had a head of carefully styled dark brown hair and the thickest eyeliner Chanyeol had ever seen on a guy. He was also, well, short. Chanyeol looked him up and down. Kyungsoo-short, to be exact. He had an earnest smile on his face, which made Chanyeol want to talk. "My two exes are so stupid," he told him. "They didn't even know they were in love with each other until I told them."
The waiter raised an eyebrow at him. Perfectly shaped, Chanyeol noted, which almost made him want to raise an eyebrow himself. "Your exes, huh?"
"Yeah," Chanyeol said, beckoning him to lean closer. "The one who left first, the guy with the childish smile," he stage whispered, "he's surprisingly good in bed. But he has really horrible fashion sense and his eyes can grow up to thrice their normal size when he's surprised." He shrugged. "So I broke up with him."
The waiter laughed. Well, it was more of a giggle. Chanyeol thought it was kind of really cute. He surreptitiously peeked at the waiter's name tag. 'Baekhyun,' it read. "Really? You broke up over that?"
"Actually, no," Chanyeol confessed. "I'm an astrologer, see, and he laughed at me when I told him that's what I do for a living. He apologized when he realized I was telling the truth, but well, things just didn't work out. In the end, we decided to just stay friends. We're flatmates now."
"And the other one?" Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol thought his voice sounded nice-soothing-if a little too amused.
"Clashing personalities," Chanyeol said. "Jongin thinks I'm too unstable. I think of him the same way, to be honest." He wrinkled his nose. "Besides, I knew he'd be a goner as soon as he met Kyungsoo. He seems to have developed a habit of dropping by the flat unannounced, not to see me, mind, but to see Kyungsoo."
"...right."
Chanyeol blinked. "Oh, sorry." He laughed awkwardly, then tried to smother it behind his hand. "I tend to run my mouth off sometimes. Okay, fine. All the time. At least, that's what Kyungsoo says. And he's usually right. Even though it's irritating when he insists he's right, which, on second thought, I also like doing myself..." He trailed off. Baekhyun was watching him, a smile playing on his lips. They were a respectable pair of lips, Chanyeol noticed. "Right. Shutting up now. You can go back to work and everything."
"It's fine," Baekhyun said. "There isn't anyone else to serve."
Chanyeol looked around and scratched his head. Baekhyun was right. Was it later than he thought it was? He checked his watch for the time and realized he hadn't worn it. "I guess you should, um, sit down or something, Baekhyun. If that's even allowed."
"Thanks, my feet are killing me." The corner of Baekhyun's mouth twitched as he took the seat beside Chanyeol. "My family owns this restaurant. You'd think they'd cut me some slack, but, no, they run me ragged just like the rest of them. I help them out enough." He shrugged, leaned back, and looked completely at ease.
Somehow, it made Chanyeol nervous. "So, uh, do you come here often?" he blurted out.
"I live here."
Oh, Chanyeol could definitely hear the amusement in Baekhyun's voice now. "Another drink, please." He smiled weakly, his eyes trained on Baekhyun's hand as he poured Chanyeol's drink. He had a really pretty hand. And such long, elegant fingers. Chanyeol shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He was trying to drown himself in misery here, not pick someone up.
"You said you were an astrologer," Baekhyun said, a question at the end of his statement.
Chanyeol immediately bristled. "I write horoscopes, to be exact. Problem with that?"
"Not really a problem, but I do find it interesting." Baekhyun smiled at him, and he saw pearly white teeth.
Chanyeol frowned, puzzled.
"You see," Baekhyun continued, "aside from being a waiter here, I'm also the resident fortune teller."
Chanyeol couldn't help it. He laughed. "Now you're just having me on-oh my god, you're serious."
Baekhyun just shrugged, still smiling serenely.
"It can't be. You...write those silly fortune cookie messages, don't you?"
"I do."
Chanyeol recoiled in horror. "But they're so..." He wrinkled his nose. "How can you live with doing that?"
"I could say the same about you," Baekhyun said, but he didn't sound angry. In fact, his smile was filled with mischief.
"When's your birthday?" Chanyeol demanded.
"May 6."
Taurus. Chanyeol considered this. The two of them would have made a good match had Chanyeol still been a Sagittarius. Oh, wait, Baekhyun was an Aries now, so things wouldn't have worked anyway. Foiled by the stars again.
"You look disappointed."
Chanyeol smiled uneasily at Baekhyun, not really willing to confess that he had just checked on whether or not a potential romance could blossom between them. "Just having a rough day, like you said."
Baekhyun tapped on his lower lip. "Would a free fortune telling session help, mister...?"
"Chanyeol. I'm Chanyeol. And it's okay, I don't need it." He could always figure out his own horoscope. He frowned. Something was wrong with this picture. Oh, right, he was an Ophiuchus and he couldn't exactly determine his own fortune right now. "On second thought, sure, why not?"
Baekhyun took his right hand and peered solemnly at the lines on his palm. "So you're actually a palmist," Chanyeol said, as he stared at Baekhyun's fingers.
"Not a palmist," Baekhyun said in between hmmms and aaahs. Finally, he looked at Chanyeol, a grave expression on his face. Chanyeol held his breath, expecting the worst.
"Today," Baekhyun said, his eyes twinkling, "you will meet your destiny."
a/n2: The premise of this fic is based on the controversy back in 2011 when Minnesota Planetarium Society released a report saying there are actually 13 constellations (13 zodiac signs) and that astrologers have been reading the stars off by a month. Followup articles said Ophiuchus only affects people born from 2009 onward, so Chanyeol's sign (and the others' as well) hasn't really changed. i.e. Chanyeol panicked for nothing. Also, disclaimer, I know nothing about actual astrology. I just like reading horoscopes.
Chanyeol/Baekhyun, Kai/Kyungsoo
2857 words, PG-13, fluff/AU
The appearance of a 13th zodiac sign makes the world of horoscope writer Chanyeol tilt on its axis.
a/n: Written for aideshou (prompt ii: b'shert - (n) destiny; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly). Voting post here (if you're looking for stuff to read, there are 21 submissions for this round!).
The day Chanyeol met his soulmate was the worst day of his life.
It started inconspicuously enough with him getting out of bed, washing his face, and sitting in front of his laptop. He was clad in a well-worn sleep shirt and his favorite pair of socks with alien design, his curly hair sticking up in all directions, as he checked his e-mail and mentally organized his tasks for the day. Chanyeol worked as codename Happy Virus, the horoscope writer for an online dating website.
It was when he was browsing his favorite astrology website that a large yellow popup appeared on his browser and changed his life forever. "New Zodiac Sign Appears Because of Earth's Rotation!" it said in giant neon green letters.
Chanyeol clicked on the link and felt his world tilt on its axis. He shook his head, making a few of his curls drift in front of his eyes, as he scanned the full content of the article. Five minutes later, he was as pale as a ghost and his fingernails were down to nubs from his nervous nibbling.
"Breakfast is ready." His flatmate, Kyungsoo, entered the room, looking way too put together for this early in the morning. His t-shirt looked like it had been ironed, and there was an apron tied around his waist. Chanyeol prided himself in his disorganized chaos-which extended to his rumpled clothing choices-and Kyungsoo's neatness often infuriated him, but today he was too distraught to make a comment.
"Reading your horoscope again? Isn't the fact that you can write your own horoscope enough?" Kyungsoo tsked at him. "How many times do I have to tell you those things aren't real? And don't use that old gimmick of yours, ‘But, Kyungsoo, we met because my horoscope urged me to go to the bookstore that day!' I'm not falling for that anymore. Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo waved his hand in front of Chanyeol's face. "Are you okay, Chanyeol?"
Chanyeol didn't even blink. "Kyungsoo," he managed to croak out, reaching blindly for Kyungsoo's hand.
Kyungsoo gulped. "What happened? Did you...receive bad news?"
Chanyeol nodded solemnly, his eyes still glued to his laptop screen. "The stars," he said. "They've shifted."
"You're kidding, right?" Jongin rubbed at his still tired eyelids as he stretched his long limbs on the living room sofa. "You did not just call me saying there was an emergency, only to tell me when I get here that I'm no longer a Capricorn, I'm a Sagittarius. What the fuck? I was in bed. Sleeping. After being at dance practice all night." He eyed Kyungsoo and Chanyeol warily.
"Don't you see?" Chanyeol asked in hushed tones. He gripped the side of the sofa. "The world is ending-"
"Kyungsoo, did you let him watch 2012 again?" Jongin inhaled sharply. "I told you to watch your doomsday movies by yourself. Chanyeol's too gullible."
"I did not!" Kyungsoo yelled.
"Stop interrupting me. And I'm not gullible. I'm just...emotionally driven." Chanyeol frowned at Jongin. "Anyway, that's not it. I..." He sighed. "Guys, my love life is over. I might as well be celibate forever." He moaned into Kyungsoo's shoulder.
Jongin pretended to cough. "Did you or did you not have sex with that Japanese guy you were flirting with at the club the other night? Because, if I'm not mistaken, being celibate means no butt action."
"Oh, my virgin ears." Kyungsoo shot Jongin a dark look.
"Give me a break. I wasn't even talking dirty."
Chanyeol ignored them both and clung to Kyungsoo's waist. "You guys just don't get it. This is serious! I'm not even a normal person anymore!"
Jongin smirked. "Like that's news."
Kyungsoo shushed Jongin. "He didn't mean that, Chanyeol."
Chanyeol wasn't listening. "I'm an Ophiuchus now. My life is over!"
He paused for effect, but Kuyngsoo and Jongin merely stared at him.
"The ostracized 13th sign!" Chanyeol's voice went a pitch lower than usual. "I am having an identity crisis!" He started pacing around the room. "Everything I've known about myself doesn't matter anymore. How will I ever find my soulmate when I don't even know who I am?" He moaned pitifully. "There aren't even any signs compatible with Ophiuchus yet."
Jongin burst into laughter. Kyungsoo didn't join him, but Chanyeol thought he heard him muffle a snort.
Chanyeol turned a sad face towards them. "This is serious! Now I'm going to spend the rest of my life wondering if I'd let The One go because I thought his sign was incompatible with mine. Oh my god. What if it had been Kris from Club Exo?"
"That guy was an asshole. He was even hitting on Kyungsoo, and you know how no one wants to hit on Kyungsoo," Jongin said, shaking his head, his eyes showing his concern.
"I do too, get hit on," Kyungsoo protested, his ears turning red from the effort. "God, why do I even bother being friends with you? Chanyeol, tell him to shut up. Tell him he's not going to the club with us later. He's banned."
Chanyeol smiled faintly at his two bickering friends. "Never mind, you guys. I'm just...staying at home tonight. I need to reflect on this." He sighed. "I might as well prepare myself for being forever alone."
Jongin and Kyungsoo immediately stopped fighting and looked at each other.
"Oh no, you don't." Jongin rolled his eyes. "We are taking you out tonight. Right, Kyungsoo?"
"Right!" Kyungsoo smiled at Chanyeol and took his hand in his. "You'll meet lots of boys and have fun. Try something new this time: don't ask anyone for their zodiac sign! Trust me, you'll do great."
Chanyeol sighed. "I'm not really in the mood to go out. Why would I even want to ask anyone their zodiac sign? I'm an Ophiuchus now. I'm a freak."
"Who said anything about clubbing?" Kyungsoo had a determined look on his face that had Chanyeol mentally bracing himself. "We're having dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant." Kyungsoo's tone had an air of finality about it. "You can make fun of the fortune cookies."
Chanyeol bit his lip and considered this. He did like making fun of the cryptic messages in fortune cookies. How some people believed them over horoscopes made him wonder.
"And." Kyungsoo paused significantly. "You can, um, help me find my soulmate. You know how horrible I am at flirting."
Jongin snorted, but he quieted down at a stern look from Kyungsoo.
Chanyeol brightened just a little bit. "I am good at matchmaking."
Jongin snorted again.
"Yeah." Kyungsoo smiled gently. "You don't want me to end up forever alone, do you?" He squeezed Chanyeol's palm. "You'll help me find someone tonight, right?"
Chanyeol often squabbled with Kyungsoo, but in reality, he was really weak against him, which was why he ended up going to a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant with his two friends that night. The place was cozy, and only a few people other than them were there. At their table, he and Jongin sat in adjacent chairs while Kyungsoo sat across from Jongin. They ordered lo mein and wonton noodle soup and all sorts of dumplings, but it was the arrival of the fortune cookies that finally had Chanyeol breaking into a smile.
He was practically bursting with excitement as Kyungsoo handed him his fortune cookie before giving Jongin his and keeping the one that was left to himself. "Let's all open them together," Chanyeol announced.
Jongin rolled his eyes. Chanyeol knew he honestly couldn't be bothered, but Jongin surprised him by breaking his cookie open at the same time Kyungsoo and Chanyeol did.
"You have an admirer," Chanyeol read aloud from Jongin's paper. "Kyungsoo, tell us yours!"
"It's just something silly," Kyungsoo said. He was blushing.
"Read it! Read it!" Chanyeol demanded.
"Just read it to shut him up," Jongin practically growled.
Kyungsoo hesitated, but he seemed to have decided on something because he exhaled and opened his mouth to speak. "The love of your life is sitting across from you."
There was a short silence in which Jongin's and Kyungsoo's eyes met before they both looked away.
"Okay," Chanyeol said. "Mine is, 'If you never give up on love, it will never give up on you.'"
"They're all useless love quotes," Jongin said, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Chanyeol nodded his head. "They're just self-fulfilling prophecies."
"Like horoscopes," Jongin said mildly.
Chanyeol ignored him. "For example, I've been worried all day about not finding my soulmate, which is why the content of my fortune cookie understandably makes me feel a little hopeful. As for Kyungsoo's, well, he obviously likes you too, Jongin, so even if what the fortune cookie says is merely a coincidence, Kyungsoo's heart is set on you and interprets it as being right." There was a mad gleam in his eyes as he delivered the last words. He felt energized, invincible. He loved it when he was right. For a moment, it didn't even matter that the stars had shifted and he was destined to be alone forever.
"Kyungsoo likes me?" Jongin's voice broke into Chanyeol's internal happy dance.
There was an awkward silence punctuated only by Kyungsoo's sharp intake of breath. Chanyeol promptly fell back down to earth. "Oops?"
"I hate you, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo said, his voice calm and steady. He stood up. "I'm almost sorry I insisted we take you out. Just for that, you're footing my part of the bill."
"Wait, Kyungsoo, I didn't mean to say that! I mean, I did, but not that way. I mean, I'm right, but..." His voice trailed off uselessly. Kyungsoo had already walked away, heading towards the exit with short but brisk steps.
Beside Chanyeol, Jongin sighed. "He's still oblivious to the fact that I like him back, isn't he?"
"He can be oblivious like that, yeah," Chanyeol said without any bite. "Oh god. I totally messed up. This day sucks." He buried his head in his hands and moaned. "If you hate me too, I will give up city living and become a hermit."
Jongin sighed again. "My best friends are idiots," he muttered under his breath. He placed some bills on the table. "Go home after you're done eating. I'd better go after him."
And just like that, Jongin was gone and Chanyeol was left to deal with his misery, which had come back twofold after the whole cookie fiasco, alone. "This is all because the stars shifted," he mumbled to himself. It was true too. If they hadn't shifted, Chanyeol would still be a Sagittarius. He wouldn't have had an identity crisis, and Kyungsoo wouldn't have had to bring him here.
But while he was here, there was no reason not to wallow in misery properly. He eyed the remains of Kyungsoo's wonton noodle soup, shrugged, and helped himself to the leftover wonton. "Waiter!" he called. "Do you have any alcohol?"
The waiter who approached his table was in a changshan-style shirt and slacks that looked like Kyungsoo had ironed them himself. Chanyeol thought about commenting on it, but he decided against it and just looked on as the waiter poured him a drink without him having to ask. Chanyeol watched the liquor swishing around in his glass before downing the shot. He sighed.
"Rough day?" the waiter asked him.
Chanyeol blinked at him and took in the rest of his physical appearance for the first time. He had a head of carefully styled dark brown hair and the thickest eyeliner Chanyeol had ever seen on a guy. He was also, well, short. Chanyeol looked him up and down. Kyungsoo-short, to be exact. He had an earnest smile on his face, which made Chanyeol want to talk. "My two exes are so stupid," he told him. "They didn't even know they were in love with each other until I told them."
The waiter raised an eyebrow at him. Perfectly shaped, Chanyeol noted, which almost made him want to raise an eyebrow himself. "Your exes, huh?"
"Yeah," Chanyeol said, beckoning him to lean closer. "The one who left first, the guy with the childish smile," he stage whispered, "he's surprisingly good in bed. But he has really horrible fashion sense and his eyes can grow up to thrice their normal size when he's surprised." He shrugged. "So I broke up with him."
The waiter laughed. Well, it was more of a giggle. Chanyeol thought it was kind of really cute. He surreptitiously peeked at the waiter's name tag. 'Baekhyun,' it read. "Really? You broke up over that?"
"Actually, no," Chanyeol confessed. "I'm an astrologer, see, and he laughed at me when I told him that's what I do for a living. He apologized when he realized I was telling the truth, but well, things just didn't work out. In the end, we decided to just stay friends. We're flatmates now."
"And the other one?" Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol thought his voice sounded nice-soothing-if a little too amused.
"Clashing personalities," Chanyeol said. "Jongin thinks I'm too unstable. I think of him the same way, to be honest." He wrinkled his nose. "Besides, I knew he'd be a goner as soon as he met Kyungsoo. He seems to have developed a habit of dropping by the flat unannounced, not to see me, mind, but to see Kyungsoo."
"...right."
Chanyeol blinked. "Oh, sorry." He laughed awkwardly, then tried to smother it behind his hand. "I tend to run my mouth off sometimes. Okay, fine. All the time. At least, that's what Kyungsoo says. And he's usually right. Even though it's irritating when he insists he's right, which, on second thought, I also like doing myself..." He trailed off. Baekhyun was watching him, a smile playing on his lips. They were a respectable pair of lips, Chanyeol noticed. "Right. Shutting up now. You can go back to work and everything."
"It's fine," Baekhyun said. "There isn't anyone else to serve."
Chanyeol looked around and scratched his head. Baekhyun was right. Was it later than he thought it was? He checked his watch for the time and realized he hadn't worn it. "I guess you should, um, sit down or something, Baekhyun. If that's even allowed."
"Thanks, my feet are killing me." The corner of Baekhyun's mouth twitched as he took the seat beside Chanyeol. "My family owns this restaurant. You'd think they'd cut me some slack, but, no, they run me ragged just like the rest of them. I help them out enough." He shrugged, leaned back, and looked completely at ease.
Somehow, it made Chanyeol nervous. "So, uh, do you come here often?" he blurted out.
"I live here."
Oh, Chanyeol could definitely hear the amusement in Baekhyun's voice now. "Another drink, please." He smiled weakly, his eyes trained on Baekhyun's hand as he poured Chanyeol's drink. He had a really pretty hand. And such long, elegant fingers. Chanyeol shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He was trying to drown himself in misery here, not pick someone up.
"You said you were an astrologer," Baekhyun said, a question at the end of his statement.
Chanyeol immediately bristled. "I write horoscopes, to be exact. Problem with that?"
"Not really a problem, but I do find it interesting." Baekhyun smiled at him, and he saw pearly white teeth.
Chanyeol frowned, puzzled.
"You see," Baekhyun continued, "aside from being a waiter here, I'm also the resident fortune teller."
Chanyeol couldn't help it. He laughed. "Now you're just having me on-oh my god, you're serious."
Baekhyun just shrugged, still smiling serenely.
"It can't be. You...write those silly fortune cookie messages, don't you?"
"I do."
Chanyeol recoiled in horror. "But they're so..." He wrinkled his nose. "How can you live with doing that?"
"I could say the same about you," Baekhyun said, but he didn't sound angry. In fact, his smile was filled with mischief.
"When's your birthday?" Chanyeol demanded.
"May 6."
Taurus. Chanyeol considered this. The two of them would have made a good match had Chanyeol still been a Sagittarius. Oh, wait, Baekhyun was an Aries now, so things wouldn't have worked anyway. Foiled by the stars again.
"You look disappointed."
Chanyeol smiled uneasily at Baekhyun, not really willing to confess that he had just checked on whether or not a potential romance could blossom between them. "Just having a rough day, like you said."
Baekhyun tapped on his lower lip. "Would a free fortune telling session help, mister...?"
"Chanyeol. I'm Chanyeol. And it's okay, I don't need it." He could always figure out his own horoscope. He frowned. Something was wrong with this picture. Oh, right, he was an Ophiuchus and he couldn't exactly determine his own fortune right now. "On second thought, sure, why not?"
Baekhyun took his right hand and peered solemnly at the lines on his palm. "So you're actually a palmist," Chanyeol said, as he stared at Baekhyun's fingers.
"Not a palmist," Baekhyun said in between hmmms and aaahs. Finally, he looked at Chanyeol, a grave expression on his face. Chanyeol held his breath, expecting the worst.
"Today," Baekhyun said, his eyes twinkling, "you will meet your destiny."
a/n2: The premise of this fic is based on the controversy back in 2011 when Minnesota Planetarium Society released a report saying there are actually 13 constellations (13 zodiac signs) and that astrologers have been reading the stars off by a month. Followup articles said Ophiuchus only affects people born from 2009 onward, so Chanyeol's sign (and the others' as well) hasn't really changed. i.e. Chanyeol panicked for nothing. Also, disclaimer, I know nothing about actual astrology. I just like reading horoscopes.