Portraits of Chanyeol
Originally posted by rldforyou at Portraits of Chanyeol
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Length: One Shot
Word Count: ~ 5.2k
Pairing: Baekyeol
Summary: Baekhyun goes around Seoul, collecting Chanyeol, one portrait at a time.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
The streets of Hongdae are usually abuzz with activity, but not much so on the weekday mornings, and that is when a slight boy is spotted on a particularly windy Monday morning, pink nose huddled in his coat. He is slowly ambling down the streets despite the cold, seemingly taking in all of the indie and urban culture Hongdae is famous for - at least, that’s what Wikipedia claims.
The slight boy smiles wistfully at the unique buildings surrounding him, and then at the corner, he spots what he has come for: a street artist, who has just seemed to finish setting up his stall. The boy beams more cheerfully now; the tilt of lips makes him appear younger, friendlier. His gait speeds up now, and he approaches the artist, who perks up at the prospect of a new customer this early.
“Hello, do you want to have a drawing of you done?”
The boy hums out a polite no, and takes a cursory sweep at the artist’s display of repertoire; consisting of sketches, paintings and doodles of various styles, but for most part, the boy hardly takes a second look at them. Droopy eyes dart here and there, and then suddenly, they stop and widen at a particular sketch displayed at the top right. The time, the upturn of lips is most genuine, with the intensity of the smile showing straight white squares of teeth and making the boy’s eyes turn into adorable crescents.
“Ahjusshi, can I possibly buy that sketch?”
-
This has been going on for a year now, and Baekhyun supposes he’s chasing a fantasy. An illusion entirely constructed by himself, but Baekhyun can’t help himself. He’s normally not like this; Baekhyun is known to be practical and responsible, with a friendly personality that many people take to. It’s usually people that got attached to him, and he doesn’t mind that. But now, he’s the one clinging, and onto a fancy whim at that.
Baekhyun heaves a sigh, and glances down at his newly attained sketch clutched in his delicate hands. Another one to add to his collection.
This artist really pays attention to detail. From the individual hairs of the subject’ eyebrows, right down to his mole slightly below his collarbone… This artist does it better than the rest, Baekhyun decides.
On the paper is a sketch of a young man, of about Baekhyun’s age. Short fringe swept slightly to the side, his hair spiking slightly, those brows furrowed a little, the young man gazes back wistfully back at Baekhyun through thick lashes. The sketch of the young man has the full lips beaming to show two rows of many teeth, they belie the slight sadness in his big expressive orbs, and Baekhyun’s heart aches a little; what happened?
Compared to the other portraits at home, he seems slightly down.
Baekhyun exhales a sigh again, and checks his phone for the next street artist in Mapo District.
-
Besides his looks and some of his weird habits, Baekhyun only knows of his name: Park Chanyeol.
He had first met Chanyeol a year ago in Lotte World. Baekhyun was enjoying a day there with his friends, a celebration of some sorts because the national college entrance examinations had just ended that day. So armed with various headbands, lanyards and boxes of popcorn, they descended into Lotte World like a tornado, determined to try out every single ride. Baekhyun had been too sick after the terrifying roller coaster ride to board another and so after a round of obligatory teasing by his friends, Baekhyun was left alone at the ground, guarding all of their bags.
The heavy load weighed him down, and a tired Baekhyun went wandering for a seat nearby to rest his aching limbs. He took a seat at the bench, dumped all of the bags on the floor, and began gratefully rubbing at his shoulders, when a soft voice sounded, “Ah young man, would you like to have a sketch of you drawn?”
Surprised, Baekhyun turned around and saw a kindly old man, pencil perched behind his ear, and smiling genially at Baekhyun, with many paintings displayed behind him. Ah, Baekhyun had unwittingly sat down at the bench meant for the artist’s subjects. A red faced Baekhyun had shot up immediately, apologizing to the old artist, who only patted Baekhyun’s soft hair, chuckling that it’s okay, don’t worry about it.
Baekhyun bowed his apologies, and began picking up all of the bags. He heaved them up, and then something caught his eye.
A work of the artist’s many paintings. Amongst it all, it stood out the most. The painting depicted a laughing youth, his laugh so wide that his right eye was caught in a twitch, strong straight nose crinkled at the intensity of his laugh, and shaggy hair fell below his brows. Those lips were so stretched, and the expression so crack-y but Baekhyun’s breath still hitched.
So utterly gorgeous.
The artist saw Baekhyun staring, and smiled. “His name is Chanyeol. Boy insisted that I drew him this way, which in retrospect, really isn’t that hard. He’s easily amused by the going-ons in a theme park, and laughs so hard too. He hadn’t needed to maintain that expression, when it comes on every few minutes. Weirdly enough, the boy didn’t want to keep it. He asked for me to display this painting; he merely took a picture of me holding the painting, paid me, and left.”
Baekhyun was still transfixed.
The subject, simply put, is dazzling. Even if the boy was not standing right in front of him, laughing that spastic laugh, Baekhyun felt as if he was, and Baekhyun realizes belatedly that the artist must be chockfull of skills, to capture the expression so vividly. Those mirthful eyes shone back at Baekhyun, almost beckoning him on.
“Chan…yeol… Chanyeol.”
-
“Ahjussi, sorry to ask, but can I possibly buy the painting?”
-
And Baekhyun was treated to another round of teasing later, when his friends discovered that he purchased a painting of an unknown boy, with a weird facial expression to boot.
Our Baekhyunnie is in love~ Sungwook, his best friend teased. You have the same expression when you first discovered Taeyeon noona; that strange, almost giggly expression.
Baekhyun just smiled easily, and diverted the attention away from him by suggesting lunch at a novelty restaurant.
Truth to be told, Baekhyun didn’t know exactly what it is, but the painting - the boy, Chanyeol - just drew him in. And despite what his friends said about creepiness, he thought Chanyeol has got to be the most beautiful being ever, when his face is contorted in that side splitting laughter.
-
Baekhyun framed that painting up when he got back home.
He wished he could see him in person, but Baekhyun had no way of contacting him. But even so, he was glad. Getting home every day, seeing the painting; it cheered him up even in the gloomiest of days.
-
The next time he saw Chanyeol, it was a few months later, at the streets of Itaewon.
Baekhyun had entered Hongik University then, under the College of Liberal Arts. They had a project due regarding the lifestyles of foreigners in Korea, and the impact of their influence on the culture of Korea and his project group mates had suggested a trip down to Itaewon to better examine that aspect.
Itaewon is a district teeming with foreigners, complete with vibrant culture and buildings and hence their little excursion there.
Baekhyun and his group mates wandered around Itaewon that afternoon, interviewing the local residents and shop owners. It was tiring but still fun. He had gleaned lots of insight in the span of a few hours, and could not wait to get home to write his report, as crazy as it sounded. They parted ways, and Baekhyun began to walk briskly in the direction of the nearest metro station.
He passed by many street stalls, to his surprise, he spotted a street artist. Remembering his last encounter with one, he paused slightly when he neared the stall. They were all detailed caricatures this time, and Baekhyun smiled an appreciative smile, but a second later, he halted in his tracks.
Could it possibly be…?
Baekhyun advanced to the stall hesitantly, taking a closer look, and his jaw dropped.
It was a caricature this time; a totally different style from the previous one, but Baekhyun knew it when he saw it - just how many hours had he spent gazing at the sketch back home; there, right smack in the middle of all the showcased works, is one of a handsome boy, eye twitch and all, but instead with the familiar huge laugh, it was a bright toothy grin this time.
Noticing Baekhyun’s fixation with the caricature, the street artist grinned and remarked, “That’s a weird one there, to be honest.” Baekhyun cocked his head questioningly.
“I remember him well! A real clumsy boy, with large exaggerated movements, why, when drawing him, he got really interested in my palette, and when I lent him that, he got so excited and kicked out. Thus causing that,” He gestured to the mess of colours on the asphalt, to which Baekhyun only snorted.
“We tried cleaning up, but those are acrylics and oil paints; hard to get off. Anyway, I drew him, but he refused to take it! Asked me to display it and well, seeing how he’s a good looking lad, of course his caricature didn’t turn out half bad, if I may say so myself. There isn’t any loss in showing the caricature of him, and so I did.”
Baekhyun let out an absentminded nod, and his eye strayed back to the lovely caricature, and caught something.
There, inscribed at the very bottom of the creamy paper, were the characters, “Park. Chan. Yeol.”
Baekhyun breathed out excitedly; it was a confirmation.
“Ahjussi, could I possibly buy this?”
-
Fueled by the thought that this Chanyeol person could possibly be going around Seoul asking for his face to be drawn, Baekhyun too, went around Seoul searching for street artists, chasing after the handsome boy who he’d never met. True enough, there are many portraits of Chanyeol abound in Seoul, and Baekhyun collected them all. It is ludicrous and Baekhyun knew it, but he could not help himself.
His room is basically a shrine for the boy now, with various sketches, paintings and caricatures Baekhyun had bought off the street artists. Why, Baekhyun even had some of them resized to bookmarks, and decorations for his school notebook. The pictures make Baekhyun happy, and he supposes that is why he keeps buying the art. And throughout the year, besides his features, Baekhyun has learnt quite a bit of Chanyeol, via the conversations he had with the street artists.
Park Chanyeol, born in 1992, coincidentally the same age as Baekhyun; extremely tall, with the looks of a princess but with a voice of a trucker. Clumsy and with exaggerated movements, but good natured who is not yet seen without smiling. Cracks lame jokes that no one but himself laughs at. Can be somewhat unhygienic at times, picking his nose and smelling like dried sweat; the tart smell apparently lodged itself firmly in the minds of the street artists.
Baekhyun just keeps on collecting those snippets of Chanyeol.
It’s not something he is proud of, to be so obsessed with someone he doesn't know or ever met, and if he is to be honest with himself, borderline creepy. But still, being greeted by those visual depictions of happiness when he gets home makes him happy too. Moreover, Baekhyun reasons that it’s simply because Baekhyun has utmost appreciation of the boy’s good looks and the many expressions he makes. Pure aesthetic appreciation.
It’s not like he’s in love, of course not.
He is just utterly fascinated by this person Chanyeol, whose disposition had so enchanted Baekhyun, who simply can’t stop thinking of him.
-
And sometimes, Baekhyun lets his imagination runs wild. Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol would be someone with a penchant for tailored shirts and well fitted pants - the preppy style perhaps? - because from what he hears, the latter seems like a walking contradiction. Chanyeol would probably be someone who cannot play instruments, unlike Baekhyun, as he muses, because someone as uncoordinated as him probably doesn’t fare well in that department.
Baekhyun longs to hear his voice, hear his jokes, see him, hug him, and thank him for lighting up his life, no matter how cheesy that sounds.
But of course, Baekhyun is always a step behind, and it somewhat pains him.
That in reality, he is just painting an illusion, filling in the outlined spaces of the little things of Chanyeol that he did know, with the colours of fantasy. That no matter how intense his yearning and vivid the imagined Chanyeol is in his mind, he still has no freakin’ clue of what the man really is like, and that holds true for Chanyeol, who couldn’t have known about a certain college boy going around collecting his portraits like a stalker.
And even though Baekhyun has a slight idea of where Chanyeol frequents (The street artists in Mapo District hold the most Chanyeol portraits), just how do you search for a man in one of the most densely populated cities in the world? The possibilities are endless.
-
This is the first time that Chanyeol appears to be pensive in a portrait. Baekhyun has witnessed many changes to Chanyeol, appearances wise: the change in hairstyle, hair colour… and that’s about it. But never has the expression of Chanyeol’s changed, the light in his eyes shone bright, always captured so accurately in the portraits of him done.
But now… The slight change in the nuances of Chanyeol’s expression makes Baekhyun yearn.
The yearning to talk to him, know him, touch him.
Chanyeol, tell me, what has got you so contemplative?
-
In the following months that follow, from the portraits that Baekhyun collect, Chanyeol’s expression still bears the pensiveness. From his prompts to the street artists, Baekhyun learns that Chanyeol has mostly been quiet when he was being drawn. In fact, one of the most recent portraits portrays a Chanyeol deep in thought, eyebrows deeply furrowed as he chewed on his bottom lip.
It should not be as attractive as it is, Baekhyun thinks, as he traces the outlines of Chanyeol’s bitten lip with his fingers.
-
“Oh, so he is right! The boy in this sketch, he says someone would be here to buy this sketch of him. Well, I didn’t believe him, but wow, here you are! That would be ₩25,000, thank you very much.”
-
Baekhyun hasn’t ever entertained the thought of Chanyeol knowing about his existence. Well, not specifically Baekhyun, but the fact that someone was buying off his portraits like a total creep.
Baekhyun’s face hasn’t burned so hot since… well never, because this has got to be the most mortifying thing ever.
He doesn’t stop buying those portraits of Chanyeol though, and after a particular purchase, he learns that Chanyeol wishes to meet him; Chanyeol even left behind his phone number for Baekhyun. But Baekhyun’s afraid; for most part, that the person of his dreams would spurn him after his actions, and a little worried that his illusion of Chanyeol would be dashed just like this.
Because of all the things that Baekhyun is known for, he is especially known for one: careful. Guarded, almost. Baekhyun doesn’t know the risk would be worth the potential heartache. And so despite his longing for Chanyeol, Baekhyun remains hidden, only collecting Chanyeol’s portraits one at a time.
It kinda breaks Baekhyun’s heart, but better a few hairline cracks than a full fledged rip down the middle.
-
It’s a new semester, and Baekhyun exhales heavily. New modules to take, new people to meet. Pushing the door, Baekhyun realizes that he’s one of the earlier ones. Huh, so sophomores are now letting up their game. It is ten minutes before class and only two girls are in. It certainly wasn’t like this last semester, he thinks wryly.
Baekhyun shoots a bright smile at the two chit chatting girls, and then proceeds to an aisle seat at the back of the class. He prepares his materials for the class: a textbook, notebook, stationery, and a planner. There’s still about five minutes till the seminar starts, and so Baekhyun does what a normal college student would do: placing his thick book in front of him, he flops his head onto it and closes his eyes.
It’s a hard pillow, but it doesn’t bother Baekhyun. He tunes out the noise, and thinks back to the note he received from an artist just a few days prior.
Please don’t avoid me, please please please. I really want to see you. Call me when you’re ready.
Heavy footfalls, scrapes on the ground and heavy chatter nearby; people are already entering the seminar room. Class is starting soon.
Baekhyun hasn’t decided what to do. Chanyeol must be waiting for his reply, but then again, he has no idea when Chanyeol had deposited that note with the artist, so maybe it has been a long time, and Chanyeol has given up, Baekhyun can’t tell.
Baekhyun thuds his head onto the desk, ugh, why is he such a coward, why couldn’t he just meet Chanyeol?
Thud thud thud.
“Hey, if you keep banging that pretty head of yours against the desk you’re gonna kill shitloads of brain cells.” A deep voice teases, but with concern nonetheless.
Oh, Baekhyun hasn’t even realized that the noises from before was because someone has settled into a seat next to him. Baekhyun raises his head to smile weakly at the speaker, before turning his head back to the now entering professor-
Wait. A. Second.
Baekhyun’s head whips back to the speaker, who is now facing the professor himself, perfect brows knitted in concentration, large eyes with thick lashes fanning out, strong straight nose and full luscious lips bitten raw by pearly whites.
That profile.
Baekhyun would recognize it anywhere.
“Chan… Yeol…” Baekhyun barely breathed out his name, but the other still notices. Cocking his head in that all-too-familiar position, Chanyeol side eyes Baekhyun amd smiles that happy grin, making his right eye twitch. Damn, he is even better looking in real life. Baekhyun has never been one to believe all that sappy stuff about your heart skipping a beat, but now he does. There is a roaring in his ears, and he could feel a furious blush working up his cheeks. His jaw is still hanging at the sight of Chanyeol.
He finally met him.
“Do you think I would not find you, my little one.” Chanyeol smiles and lifts Baekhyun’s chin. “Now, stop gaping.”
Dazed, Baekhyun turns his head back to the professor, mind and heart in a whirl. What just happened? Did he hear him correctly? Heck, is the real life Chanyeol even beside him, or has his overactive imagination gotten the best of him?!
And so Baekhyun pinches his own arm hard, rubs his eyes, and sneaks a surreptitious glance at the person beside. True enough, the boy - Chanyeol - is still there, and now fluttering his expressive eyes and beaming at Baekhyun. Baekhyun supposes he looks dumb, widened eyes, mouth gaping like a goldfish and slightly shaking, but Chanyeol just shakes his head, and swats Baekhyun’s head back in front with his huge palm.
Baekhyun stutters and almost flinches away at Chanyeol’s touch, and to his chagrin, he hears Chanyeol’s deep snicker.
Gosh, his laughter is music.
-
The bell finally signals the end of the class, and the room is suddenly abuzz with activity, all eager to get out for their break. Baekhyun packs his bag hurriedly, keen to get out before Chanyeol has a chance to accost him. The boy beside him chuckles at Baekhyun’s flurry of movements, and merely reaches for Baekhyun’s planner. Baekhyun freezes; the planner contained a bookmark of Chanyeol!
And now that he realizes, his front of his school notebook has been decorated with the cartoonish caricatures of Chanyeol, and he mentally kicks himself.
Ugh, in his daze, he hasn’t even thought to keep his notebooks away from Chanyeol’s sight. And they were on display the entire lesson! Baekhyun palms his face and groans. His planner is then thrust into his vision, and Chanyeol speaks, with amusement lacing his voice, “Well, Byun Baekhyun. I have a class now, but no worries. Meet me at the school café at 4pm later! I have marked out the time on your planner, so don’t forget. I have your number now,“ Baekhyun cringes as he remembers the digits on the front of the planner, “and I trust that you already have mine. So see you later!”
Baekhyun grimaces and Chanyeol laughs and fondles his hair. “Oh god, you’re so cute. Oh, nice bookmark and decorations, by the way.” With a smirk, Chanyeol stands up, Baekhyun gawks. Gosh, he must be at least 6ft, but wow, Chanyeol has the perfect physique; tall and lean, not too buff, but the thin material of Chanyeol’s cotton top still shows the definitions of his muscles.
Speechless, Baekhyun watches Chanyeol’s back figure as he walks out and realizing his actions, thuds his head heavily on the desk again.
-
“H-Hello..”
Chanyeol beams again, and almost trips himself when he gets up to hold the chair out for Baekhyun. Embarrassed, Baekhyun slides into the chair, mumbling, “This isn’t a date, and I’m not a girl…”
But true to what Baekhyun has heard, Chanyeol is really a mess of flailing appendages, complete with overexcited gestures, huge grins and also, later, as Baekhyun discovers, a cheesy romantic beneath that tall stature.
Chanyeol introduces himself properly, and Baekhyun does too, barely stuttering his way through. It’s a first for the usually confident Baekhyun, but just how does he remain calm in front of the boy he has been pining away for the greater part of 18 months?
The answer is: you don’t.
Chanyeol bombards Baekhyun with personal questions, but yet never touching on the topic of Baekhyun’s purchase of practically all Chanyeol’s portraits. And so after the fourteenth time that Baekhyun has given short one-word replies, all while gazing down at his lap, Chanyeol leans forward, and a pregnant pause, he cups Baekhyun’s face in his huge palms.
Startled, Baekhyun looks up, and is greeted with the sight of Chanyeol smiling fondly at him, and squishes his cheeks. “I’m not turned off by your actions, Baekhyun. In fact, I’m very flattered. That someone would like my face enough to buy up almost all of my portraits.”
The gentle tone turns to one of adoration next, “Those street artists ahjusshis are absolutely right; you’re so cute!” He coos at a bewildered Baekhyun, and laughs at him, “What, do you really think I won’t find you?” Ignoring Baekhyun’s splutters, Chanyeol continues, “I have the habit of going to street artists and asking them to draw me, and for them hang my portrait. That, I suppose you already know.
“I love to travel, and even though the wanderlust could hardly be fulfilled just by the confines of Seoul, I still go around, exploring the places and just generally, having fun, y’know? But one day, I chanced upon a street artist, and it’s some kind of narcissism, but I want to leave my mark in the places I have once visited. And because there are quite a fair bit of street artists in Seoul, I thought I would have the street artists in places I’d visited to draw me, and display my portrait.
“Imagine my surprise when one day I went to Apujeong again and couldn’t find my portrait! Thankfully the artist ahjusshi remembered me, and told me that a cute, fun-sized student of about 20 years old came and bought that portrait, without even asking for his own to be drawn. I was surprised, but let it go, but it happened to all the other places where my portraits were. And all street artists told the same description of the buyer. It was incredibly mystifying, and so like how you set out to buy my portraits, I set out to discover more about the cute fun-sized boy who keeps buying my pictures.”
Chanyeol has let go of Baekhyun now, and with a pang, Baekhyun realizes that he misses the warmth of Chanyeol’s hands against his cheeks. Chanyeol leans back and stretches his legs; he hits the table legs, but it hardly bothers him.
“I didn’t have much luck until Itaewon, until the street artist remembers that you were clutching onto Hongdae’s laptop bag, with the name Byun Baekhyun. I couldn’t believe my ears, because after all that search, you’re actually that near me. I checked up the school directory, and found out that you’re in Liberal Arts. A little snooping later and I knew that you would be taking the class just now, so I signed myself up for the module too. As an elective, of course. I’m from biz admin by the way. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known that it’s you if it wasn’t for those decorations you have on your school notebook. Saw it when I entered the seminar room from behind.”
Baekhyun hasn’t interrupted throughout Chanyeol’s entire speech, not entirely trusting his voice to not crack at this juncture. It is all shocking news to Baekhyun, who has always thought that he’s the one chasing, but going by Chanyeol’s impassioned soliloquy just now, he guesses not. A surge of hope up Baekhyun’s heart; he can do this.
Chanyeol is watching Baekhyun now, the question in his eyes all too clear. Why?
“I-I,” Baekhyun clears his throat angrily, determined to voice his feelings out loud this time. “I first met you in Lotte World; your laughter captured me, and try as I might, there isn’t any way I could have resisted that. The second time I met you was in Itaewon. You were smiling this time, and god, the only thought running through my head then was, ‘Lord, he is beautiful.’, it was so embarrassing but I bought the sketch, and the ones after that. Your smile cheers me up even in the darkest days and so I did what I did. There isn’t any other explanation except that I find you… beautiful. Breathtakingly so. I don’t regret it.”
Chanyeol beams his largest smile yet, and claps his hands in delight, but Baekhyun hasn’t finished.
“And even when you eyes held its first trace of wistfulness, that even thought it was your smile that I fell for, I still thought there could possibly be no more gorgeous being alive, and I fell even more. I never did admit that to myself, but speaking these words out loud… They feel right. It’s so strange, but I fell, and boy, is it hard.”
Baekhyun rushes those words out, but Chanyeol’s delight is all too obvious. He grabs onto Baekhyun’s hands and gosh, this must be love alright - no matter how ridiculous it came about - because if the thumping joy coursing through his veins at both the smile directed at him and the first contact of lips against lips isn’t, then Baekhyun doesn’t know what is.
-
“Silly, I wasn’t sad, I was just curious and dying to know who my secret admirer is, and that kinda reflected in the portraits I guess. It was all that occupied my mind the past few months, y’know. I mean, he must lurrrvvveee me a lot to buy all of my portraits. Who knows, he may even jack off to those pictures…. hAHAHAHA STOP IT BAEKHYUN MY SIDES ARE SUPER SENSITIVE.”
-
That day, Baekhyun discovers that Chanyeol, despite his lack of coordination, has a fantastic sense of rhythm, especially when rapping. And contrary to Baekhyun’s predictions, Chanyeol plays a wide array of instruments, and Baekhyun only falls harder when Chanyeol first serenades him with his trusty acoustic guitar.
Chanyeol dresses like a wannabe hip hop artist, with baggy shirts and pants. It’s not what Baekhyun usually goes for, but then again, that’s how Chanyeol is, and Baekhyun wouldn’t want him any other way.
He laughs with no restrain, that Baekhyun knows, but it still surprises him when Chanyeol does laugh.
Chanyeol is a person full of contradictions; not all are pleasant ones, but Baekhyun accepts them, and continues to be surprised by his boyfriend every day.
And he hopes the surprise lasts for the whole of his life, because even when he’s old and wrinkly, he would still want to marvel how, even after a lifetime of being together, a mere touch or smile from Chanyeol would send his heart fluttering into paradise, and that no matter what, he would still want Chanyeol by his side.
Forever.
Chanyeol may be an illusion, but it's in the past. Now he has evolved to that of reality now, and Baekhyun won't let go.
-
The streets of Hongdae are usually abuzz with activity, but not so on the weekday mornings and that is when a couple is strolling down said streets, enjoying the coolness of the autumn winds.
They smile wistfully at the unique buildings surrounding them - the architecture just has that effect - and at that corner they spot a street artist, who has just seemed to finish setting up his stall.
“Honey, shall we have a couple portrait done? No need to queue this early!” The other simply nods his assent, and allows the other to drag him to the stall. Their approach alerts the artist, who perks up at the prospect of a new customer this early.
“Hello, do you want to have a drawing of you done?”
“Yeah sure! And omo, honey, will you just look at that!”
Amongst the artist’s display of wide repertoire; consisting of sketches, paintings and doodles of various styles, but what has caught the couple’s attention is a sketch of a couple, just like themselves, located right smack in the middle of the artist’s display. Both were beaming brightly, in fact, the intensity of the smiles has the left guy showing straight white squares of teeth and eyes shaped into adorable crescents. The guy on the right has an almost maniacal expression, with his right eye froze in mid-twitch on paper, but there could be no denying the love that practically radiates from the sketch.
“Oh, this couple? A memorable pair I must say! They came together just a couple weeks ago, and wanted to have their picture drawn, and then hung on my display. They were being all lovey dovey one second, and then bickering the next, but you could tell that they adore each other to bits. Insisted to have their couple name inscribed at the bottom too. I seldom acquiesce to such requests, but their eyes did that puppy thing, and I had too. Ah yes, I remember them well.”
The pair oh-ed and ahh-ed at the artist’s remark, and lean in to take a closer look. And there, scrawled in squiggly handwriting are the characters:
Chan.Baek.
Baek.Yeol.
“Why, they even squabbled over their couple name. The taller one only agreed after the shorter one surprised him with a kiss on the lips. Had to stop them before the kiss turned into a steamy make out session. Tsk, youths these days!”
- E N D -
T/N: Hongdae is an area in Seoul, and is named after Hongik University, which is located there. Hongdae means either the area, or the university itself.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Length: One Shot
Word Count: ~ 5.2k
Pairing: Baekyeol
Summary: Baekhyun goes around Seoul, collecting Chanyeol, one portrait at a time.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
The streets of Hongdae are usually abuzz with activity, but not much so on the weekday mornings, and that is when a slight boy is spotted on a particularly windy Monday morning, pink nose huddled in his coat. He is slowly ambling down the streets despite the cold, seemingly taking in all of the indie and urban culture Hongdae is famous for - at least, that’s what Wikipedia claims.
The slight boy smiles wistfully at the unique buildings surrounding him, and then at the corner, he spots what he has come for: a street artist, who has just seemed to finish setting up his stall. The boy beams more cheerfully now; the tilt of lips makes him appear younger, friendlier. His gait speeds up now, and he approaches the artist, who perks up at the prospect of a new customer this early.
“Hello, do you want to have a drawing of you done?”
The boy hums out a polite no, and takes a cursory sweep at the artist’s display of repertoire; consisting of sketches, paintings and doodles of various styles, but for most part, the boy hardly takes a second look at them. Droopy eyes dart here and there, and then suddenly, they stop and widen at a particular sketch displayed at the top right. The time, the upturn of lips is most genuine, with the intensity of the smile showing straight white squares of teeth and making the boy’s eyes turn into adorable crescents.
“Ahjusshi, can I possibly buy that sketch?”
-
This has been going on for a year now, and Baekhyun supposes he’s chasing a fantasy. An illusion entirely constructed by himself, but Baekhyun can’t help himself. He’s normally not like this; Baekhyun is known to be practical and responsible, with a friendly personality that many people take to. It’s usually people that got attached to him, and he doesn’t mind that. But now, he’s the one clinging, and onto a fancy whim at that.
Baekhyun heaves a sigh, and glances down at his newly attained sketch clutched in his delicate hands. Another one to add to his collection.
This artist really pays attention to detail. From the individual hairs of the subject’ eyebrows, right down to his mole slightly below his collarbone… This artist does it better than the rest, Baekhyun decides.
On the paper is a sketch of a young man, of about Baekhyun’s age. Short fringe swept slightly to the side, his hair spiking slightly, those brows furrowed a little, the young man gazes back wistfully back at Baekhyun through thick lashes. The sketch of the young man has the full lips beaming to show two rows of many teeth, they belie the slight sadness in his big expressive orbs, and Baekhyun’s heart aches a little; what happened?
Compared to the other portraits at home, he seems slightly down.
Baekhyun exhales a sigh again, and checks his phone for the next street artist in Mapo District.
-
Besides his looks and some of his weird habits, Baekhyun only knows of his name: Park Chanyeol.
He had first met Chanyeol a year ago in Lotte World. Baekhyun was enjoying a day there with his friends, a celebration of some sorts because the national college entrance examinations had just ended that day. So armed with various headbands, lanyards and boxes of popcorn, they descended into Lotte World like a tornado, determined to try out every single ride. Baekhyun had been too sick after the terrifying roller coaster ride to board another and so after a round of obligatory teasing by his friends, Baekhyun was left alone at the ground, guarding all of their bags.
The heavy load weighed him down, and a tired Baekhyun went wandering for a seat nearby to rest his aching limbs. He took a seat at the bench, dumped all of the bags on the floor, and began gratefully rubbing at his shoulders, when a soft voice sounded, “Ah young man, would you like to have a sketch of you drawn?”
Surprised, Baekhyun turned around and saw a kindly old man, pencil perched behind his ear, and smiling genially at Baekhyun, with many paintings displayed behind him. Ah, Baekhyun had unwittingly sat down at the bench meant for the artist’s subjects. A red faced Baekhyun had shot up immediately, apologizing to the old artist, who only patted Baekhyun’s soft hair, chuckling that it’s okay, don’t worry about it.
Baekhyun bowed his apologies, and began picking up all of the bags. He heaved them up, and then something caught his eye.
A work of the artist’s many paintings. Amongst it all, it stood out the most. The painting depicted a laughing youth, his laugh so wide that his right eye was caught in a twitch, strong straight nose crinkled at the intensity of his laugh, and shaggy hair fell below his brows. Those lips were so stretched, and the expression so crack-y but Baekhyun’s breath still hitched.
So utterly gorgeous.
The artist saw Baekhyun staring, and smiled. “His name is Chanyeol. Boy insisted that I drew him this way, which in retrospect, really isn’t that hard. He’s easily amused by the going-ons in a theme park, and laughs so hard too. He hadn’t needed to maintain that expression, when it comes on every few minutes. Weirdly enough, the boy didn’t want to keep it. He asked for me to display this painting; he merely took a picture of me holding the painting, paid me, and left.”
Baekhyun was still transfixed.
The subject, simply put, is dazzling. Even if the boy was not standing right in front of him, laughing that spastic laugh, Baekhyun felt as if he was, and Baekhyun realizes belatedly that the artist must be chockfull of skills, to capture the expression so vividly. Those mirthful eyes shone back at Baekhyun, almost beckoning him on.
“Chan…yeol… Chanyeol.”
-
“Ahjussi, sorry to ask, but can I possibly buy the painting?”
-
And Baekhyun was treated to another round of teasing later, when his friends discovered that he purchased a painting of an unknown boy, with a weird facial expression to boot.
Our Baekhyunnie is in love~ Sungwook, his best friend teased. You have the same expression when you first discovered Taeyeon noona; that strange, almost giggly expression.
Baekhyun just smiled easily, and diverted the attention away from him by suggesting lunch at a novelty restaurant.
Truth to be told, Baekhyun didn’t know exactly what it is, but the painting - the boy, Chanyeol - just drew him in. And despite what his friends said about creepiness, he thought Chanyeol has got to be the most beautiful being ever, when his face is contorted in that side splitting laughter.
-
Baekhyun framed that painting up when he got back home.
He wished he could see him in person, but Baekhyun had no way of contacting him. But even so, he was glad. Getting home every day, seeing the painting; it cheered him up even in the gloomiest of days.
-
The next time he saw Chanyeol, it was a few months later, at the streets of Itaewon.
Baekhyun had entered Hongik University then, under the College of Liberal Arts. They had a project due regarding the lifestyles of foreigners in Korea, and the impact of their influence on the culture of Korea and his project group mates had suggested a trip down to Itaewon to better examine that aspect.
Itaewon is a district teeming with foreigners, complete with vibrant culture and buildings and hence their little excursion there.
Baekhyun and his group mates wandered around Itaewon that afternoon, interviewing the local residents and shop owners. It was tiring but still fun. He had gleaned lots of insight in the span of a few hours, and could not wait to get home to write his report, as crazy as it sounded. They parted ways, and Baekhyun began to walk briskly in the direction of the nearest metro station.
He passed by many street stalls, to his surprise, he spotted a street artist. Remembering his last encounter with one, he paused slightly when he neared the stall. They were all detailed caricatures this time, and Baekhyun smiled an appreciative smile, but a second later, he halted in his tracks.
Could it possibly be…?
Baekhyun advanced to the stall hesitantly, taking a closer look, and his jaw dropped.
It was a caricature this time; a totally different style from the previous one, but Baekhyun knew it when he saw it - just how many hours had he spent gazing at the sketch back home; there, right smack in the middle of all the showcased works, is one of a handsome boy, eye twitch and all, but instead with the familiar huge laugh, it was a bright toothy grin this time.
Noticing Baekhyun’s fixation with the caricature, the street artist grinned and remarked, “That’s a weird one there, to be honest.” Baekhyun cocked his head questioningly.
“I remember him well! A real clumsy boy, with large exaggerated movements, why, when drawing him, he got really interested in my palette, and when I lent him that, he got so excited and kicked out. Thus causing that,” He gestured to the mess of colours on the asphalt, to which Baekhyun only snorted.
“We tried cleaning up, but those are acrylics and oil paints; hard to get off. Anyway, I drew him, but he refused to take it! Asked me to display it and well, seeing how he’s a good looking lad, of course his caricature didn’t turn out half bad, if I may say so myself. There isn’t any loss in showing the caricature of him, and so I did.”
Baekhyun let out an absentminded nod, and his eye strayed back to the lovely caricature, and caught something.
There, inscribed at the very bottom of the creamy paper, were the characters, “Park. Chan. Yeol.”
Baekhyun breathed out excitedly; it was a confirmation.
“Ahjussi, could I possibly buy this?”
-
Fueled by the thought that this Chanyeol person could possibly be going around Seoul asking for his face to be drawn, Baekhyun too, went around Seoul searching for street artists, chasing after the handsome boy who he’d never met. True enough, there are many portraits of Chanyeol abound in Seoul, and Baekhyun collected them all. It is ludicrous and Baekhyun knew it, but he could not help himself.
His room is basically a shrine for the boy now, with various sketches, paintings and caricatures Baekhyun had bought off the street artists. Why, Baekhyun even had some of them resized to bookmarks, and decorations for his school notebook. The pictures make Baekhyun happy, and he supposes that is why he keeps buying the art. And throughout the year, besides his features, Baekhyun has learnt quite a bit of Chanyeol, via the conversations he had with the street artists.
Park Chanyeol, born in 1992, coincidentally the same age as Baekhyun; extremely tall, with the looks of a princess but with a voice of a trucker. Clumsy and with exaggerated movements, but good natured who is not yet seen without smiling. Cracks lame jokes that no one but himself laughs at. Can be somewhat unhygienic at times, picking his nose and smelling like dried sweat; the tart smell apparently lodged itself firmly in the minds of the street artists.
Baekhyun just keeps on collecting those snippets of Chanyeol.
It’s not something he is proud of, to be so obsessed with someone he doesn't know or ever met, and if he is to be honest with himself, borderline creepy. But still, being greeted by those visual depictions of happiness when he gets home makes him happy too. Moreover, Baekhyun reasons that it’s simply because Baekhyun has utmost appreciation of the boy’s good looks and the many expressions he makes. Pure aesthetic appreciation.
It’s not like he’s in love, of course not.
He is just utterly fascinated by this person Chanyeol, whose disposition had so enchanted Baekhyun, who simply can’t stop thinking of him.
-
And sometimes, Baekhyun lets his imagination runs wild. Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol would be someone with a penchant for tailored shirts and well fitted pants - the preppy style perhaps? - because from what he hears, the latter seems like a walking contradiction. Chanyeol would probably be someone who cannot play instruments, unlike Baekhyun, as he muses, because someone as uncoordinated as him probably doesn’t fare well in that department.
Baekhyun longs to hear his voice, hear his jokes, see him, hug him, and thank him for lighting up his life, no matter how cheesy that sounds.
But of course, Baekhyun is always a step behind, and it somewhat pains him.
That in reality, he is just painting an illusion, filling in the outlined spaces of the little things of Chanyeol that he did know, with the colours of fantasy. That no matter how intense his yearning and vivid the imagined Chanyeol is in his mind, he still has no freakin’ clue of what the man really is like, and that holds true for Chanyeol, who couldn’t have known about a certain college boy going around collecting his portraits like a stalker.
And even though Baekhyun has a slight idea of where Chanyeol frequents (The street artists in Mapo District hold the most Chanyeol portraits), just how do you search for a man in one of the most densely populated cities in the world? The possibilities are endless.
-
This is the first time that Chanyeol appears to be pensive in a portrait. Baekhyun has witnessed many changes to Chanyeol, appearances wise: the change in hairstyle, hair colour… and that’s about it. But never has the expression of Chanyeol’s changed, the light in his eyes shone bright, always captured so accurately in the portraits of him done.
But now… The slight change in the nuances of Chanyeol’s expression makes Baekhyun yearn.
The yearning to talk to him, know him, touch him.
Chanyeol, tell me, what has got you so contemplative?
-
In the following months that follow, from the portraits that Baekhyun collect, Chanyeol’s expression still bears the pensiveness. From his prompts to the street artists, Baekhyun learns that Chanyeol has mostly been quiet when he was being drawn. In fact, one of the most recent portraits portrays a Chanyeol deep in thought, eyebrows deeply furrowed as he chewed on his bottom lip.
It should not be as attractive as it is, Baekhyun thinks, as he traces the outlines of Chanyeol’s bitten lip with his fingers.
-
“Oh, so he is right! The boy in this sketch, he says someone would be here to buy this sketch of him. Well, I didn’t believe him, but wow, here you are! That would be ₩25,000, thank you very much.”
-
Baekhyun hasn’t ever entertained the thought of Chanyeol knowing about his existence. Well, not specifically Baekhyun, but the fact that someone was buying off his portraits like a total creep.
Baekhyun’s face hasn’t burned so hot since… well never, because this has got to be the most mortifying thing ever.
He doesn’t stop buying those portraits of Chanyeol though, and after a particular purchase, he learns that Chanyeol wishes to meet him; Chanyeol even left behind his phone number for Baekhyun. But Baekhyun’s afraid; for most part, that the person of his dreams would spurn him after his actions, and a little worried that his illusion of Chanyeol would be dashed just like this.
Because of all the things that Baekhyun is known for, he is especially known for one: careful. Guarded, almost. Baekhyun doesn’t know the risk would be worth the potential heartache. And so despite his longing for Chanyeol, Baekhyun remains hidden, only collecting Chanyeol’s portraits one at a time.
It kinda breaks Baekhyun’s heart, but better a few hairline cracks than a full fledged rip down the middle.
-
It’s a new semester, and Baekhyun exhales heavily. New modules to take, new people to meet. Pushing the door, Baekhyun realizes that he’s one of the earlier ones. Huh, so sophomores are now letting up their game. It is ten minutes before class and only two girls are in. It certainly wasn’t like this last semester, he thinks wryly.
Baekhyun shoots a bright smile at the two chit chatting girls, and then proceeds to an aisle seat at the back of the class. He prepares his materials for the class: a textbook, notebook, stationery, and a planner. There’s still about five minutes till the seminar starts, and so Baekhyun does what a normal college student would do: placing his thick book in front of him, he flops his head onto it and closes his eyes.
It’s a hard pillow, but it doesn’t bother Baekhyun. He tunes out the noise, and thinks back to the note he received from an artist just a few days prior.
Please don’t avoid me, please please please. I really want to see you. Call me when you’re ready.
Heavy footfalls, scrapes on the ground and heavy chatter nearby; people are already entering the seminar room. Class is starting soon.
Baekhyun hasn’t decided what to do. Chanyeol must be waiting for his reply, but then again, he has no idea when Chanyeol had deposited that note with the artist, so maybe it has been a long time, and Chanyeol has given up, Baekhyun can’t tell.
Baekhyun thuds his head onto the desk, ugh, why is he such a coward, why couldn’t he just meet Chanyeol?
Thud thud thud.
“Hey, if you keep banging that pretty head of yours against the desk you’re gonna kill shitloads of brain cells.” A deep voice teases, but with concern nonetheless.
Oh, Baekhyun hasn’t even realized that the noises from before was because someone has settled into a seat next to him. Baekhyun raises his head to smile weakly at the speaker, before turning his head back to the now entering professor-
Wait. A. Second.
Baekhyun’s head whips back to the speaker, who is now facing the professor himself, perfect brows knitted in concentration, large eyes with thick lashes fanning out, strong straight nose and full luscious lips bitten raw by pearly whites.
That profile.
Baekhyun would recognize it anywhere.
“Chan… Yeol…” Baekhyun barely breathed out his name, but the other still notices. Cocking his head in that all-too-familiar position, Chanyeol side eyes Baekhyun amd smiles that happy grin, making his right eye twitch. Damn, he is even better looking in real life. Baekhyun has never been one to believe all that sappy stuff about your heart skipping a beat, but now he does. There is a roaring in his ears, and he could feel a furious blush working up his cheeks. His jaw is still hanging at the sight of Chanyeol.
He finally met him.
“Do you think I would not find you, my little one.” Chanyeol smiles and lifts Baekhyun’s chin. “Now, stop gaping.”
Dazed, Baekhyun turns his head back to the professor, mind and heart in a whirl. What just happened? Did he hear him correctly? Heck, is the real life Chanyeol even beside him, or has his overactive imagination gotten the best of him?!
And so Baekhyun pinches his own arm hard, rubs his eyes, and sneaks a surreptitious glance at the person beside. True enough, the boy - Chanyeol - is still there, and now fluttering his expressive eyes and beaming at Baekhyun. Baekhyun supposes he looks dumb, widened eyes, mouth gaping like a goldfish and slightly shaking, but Chanyeol just shakes his head, and swats Baekhyun’s head back in front with his huge palm.
Baekhyun stutters and almost flinches away at Chanyeol’s touch, and to his chagrin, he hears Chanyeol’s deep snicker.
Gosh, his laughter is music.
-
The bell finally signals the end of the class, and the room is suddenly abuzz with activity, all eager to get out for their break. Baekhyun packs his bag hurriedly, keen to get out before Chanyeol has a chance to accost him. The boy beside him chuckles at Baekhyun’s flurry of movements, and merely reaches for Baekhyun’s planner. Baekhyun freezes; the planner contained a bookmark of Chanyeol!
And now that he realizes, his front of his school notebook has been decorated with the cartoonish caricatures of Chanyeol, and he mentally kicks himself.
Ugh, in his daze, he hasn’t even thought to keep his notebooks away from Chanyeol’s sight. And they were on display the entire lesson! Baekhyun palms his face and groans. His planner is then thrust into his vision, and Chanyeol speaks, with amusement lacing his voice, “Well, Byun Baekhyun. I have a class now, but no worries. Meet me at the school café at 4pm later! I have marked out the time on your planner, so don’t forget. I have your number now,“ Baekhyun cringes as he remembers the digits on the front of the planner, “and I trust that you already have mine. So see you later!”
Baekhyun grimaces and Chanyeol laughs and fondles his hair. “Oh god, you’re so cute. Oh, nice bookmark and decorations, by the way.” With a smirk, Chanyeol stands up, Baekhyun gawks. Gosh, he must be at least 6ft, but wow, Chanyeol has the perfect physique; tall and lean, not too buff, but the thin material of Chanyeol’s cotton top still shows the definitions of his muscles.
Speechless, Baekhyun watches Chanyeol’s back figure as he walks out and realizing his actions, thuds his head heavily on the desk again.
-
“H-Hello..”
Chanyeol beams again, and almost trips himself when he gets up to hold the chair out for Baekhyun. Embarrassed, Baekhyun slides into the chair, mumbling, “This isn’t a date, and I’m not a girl…”
But true to what Baekhyun has heard, Chanyeol is really a mess of flailing appendages, complete with overexcited gestures, huge grins and also, later, as Baekhyun discovers, a cheesy romantic beneath that tall stature.
Chanyeol introduces himself properly, and Baekhyun does too, barely stuttering his way through. It’s a first for the usually confident Baekhyun, but just how does he remain calm in front of the boy he has been pining away for the greater part of 18 months?
The answer is: you don’t.
Chanyeol bombards Baekhyun with personal questions, but yet never touching on the topic of Baekhyun’s purchase of practically all Chanyeol’s portraits. And so after the fourteenth time that Baekhyun has given short one-word replies, all while gazing down at his lap, Chanyeol leans forward, and a pregnant pause, he cups Baekhyun’s face in his huge palms.
Startled, Baekhyun looks up, and is greeted with the sight of Chanyeol smiling fondly at him, and squishes his cheeks. “I’m not turned off by your actions, Baekhyun. In fact, I’m very flattered. That someone would like my face enough to buy up almost all of my portraits.”
The gentle tone turns to one of adoration next, “Those street artists ahjusshis are absolutely right; you’re so cute!” He coos at a bewildered Baekhyun, and laughs at him, “What, do you really think I won’t find you?” Ignoring Baekhyun’s splutters, Chanyeol continues, “I have the habit of going to street artists and asking them to draw me, and for them hang my portrait. That, I suppose you already know.
“I love to travel, and even though the wanderlust could hardly be fulfilled just by the confines of Seoul, I still go around, exploring the places and just generally, having fun, y’know? But one day, I chanced upon a street artist, and it’s some kind of narcissism, but I want to leave my mark in the places I have once visited. And because there are quite a fair bit of street artists in Seoul, I thought I would have the street artists in places I’d visited to draw me, and display my portrait.
“Imagine my surprise when one day I went to Apujeong again and couldn’t find my portrait! Thankfully the artist ahjusshi remembered me, and told me that a cute, fun-sized student of about 20 years old came and bought that portrait, without even asking for his own to be drawn. I was surprised, but let it go, but it happened to all the other places where my portraits were. And all street artists told the same description of the buyer. It was incredibly mystifying, and so like how you set out to buy my portraits, I set out to discover more about the cute fun-sized boy who keeps buying my pictures.”
Chanyeol has let go of Baekhyun now, and with a pang, Baekhyun realizes that he misses the warmth of Chanyeol’s hands against his cheeks. Chanyeol leans back and stretches his legs; he hits the table legs, but it hardly bothers him.
“I didn’t have much luck until Itaewon, until the street artist remembers that you were clutching onto Hongdae’s laptop bag, with the name Byun Baekhyun. I couldn’t believe my ears, because after all that search, you’re actually that near me. I checked up the school directory, and found out that you’re in Liberal Arts. A little snooping later and I knew that you would be taking the class just now, so I signed myself up for the module too. As an elective, of course. I’m from biz admin by the way. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known that it’s you if it wasn’t for those decorations you have on your school notebook. Saw it when I entered the seminar room from behind.”
Baekhyun hasn’t interrupted throughout Chanyeol’s entire speech, not entirely trusting his voice to not crack at this juncture. It is all shocking news to Baekhyun, who has always thought that he’s the one chasing, but going by Chanyeol’s impassioned soliloquy just now, he guesses not. A surge of hope up Baekhyun’s heart; he can do this.
Chanyeol is watching Baekhyun now, the question in his eyes all too clear. Why?
“I-I,” Baekhyun clears his throat angrily, determined to voice his feelings out loud this time. “I first met you in Lotte World; your laughter captured me, and try as I might, there isn’t any way I could have resisted that. The second time I met you was in Itaewon. You were smiling this time, and god, the only thought running through my head then was, ‘Lord, he is beautiful.’, it was so embarrassing but I bought the sketch, and the ones after that. Your smile cheers me up even in the darkest days and so I did what I did. There isn’t any other explanation except that I find you… beautiful. Breathtakingly so. I don’t regret it.”
Chanyeol beams his largest smile yet, and claps his hands in delight, but Baekhyun hasn’t finished.
“And even when you eyes held its first trace of wistfulness, that even thought it was your smile that I fell for, I still thought there could possibly be no more gorgeous being alive, and I fell even more. I never did admit that to myself, but speaking these words out loud… They feel right. It’s so strange, but I fell, and boy, is it hard.”
Baekhyun rushes those words out, but Chanyeol’s delight is all too obvious. He grabs onto Baekhyun’s hands and gosh, this must be love alright - no matter how ridiculous it came about - because if the thumping joy coursing through his veins at both the smile directed at him and the first contact of lips against lips isn’t, then Baekhyun doesn’t know what is.
-
“Silly, I wasn’t sad, I was just curious and dying to know who my secret admirer is, and that kinda reflected in the portraits I guess. It was all that occupied my mind the past few months, y’know. I mean, he must lurrrvvveee me a lot to buy all of my portraits. Who knows, he may even jack off to those pictures…. hAHAHAHA STOP IT BAEKHYUN MY SIDES ARE SUPER SENSITIVE.”
-
That day, Baekhyun discovers that Chanyeol, despite his lack of coordination, has a fantastic sense of rhythm, especially when rapping. And contrary to Baekhyun’s predictions, Chanyeol plays a wide array of instruments, and Baekhyun only falls harder when Chanyeol first serenades him with his trusty acoustic guitar.
Chanyeol dresses like a wannabe hip hop artist, with baggy shirts and pants. It’s not what Baekhyun usually goes for, but then again, that’s how Chanyeol is, and Baekhyun wouldn’t want him any other way.
He laughs with no restrain, that Baekhyun knows, but it still surprises him when Chanyeol does laugh.
Chanyeol is a person full of contradictions; not all are pleasant ones, but Baekhyun accepts them, and continues to be surprised by his boyfriend every day.
And he hopes the surprise lasts for the whole of his life, because even when he’s old and wrinkly, he would still want to marvel how, even after a lifetime of being together, a mere touch or smile from Chanyeol would send his heart fluttering into paradise, and that no matter what, he would still want Chanyeol by his side.
Forever.
Chanyeol may be an illusion, but it's in the past. Now he has evolved to that of reality now, and Baekhyun won't let go.
-
The streets of Hongdae are usually abuzz with activity, but not so on the weekday mornings and that is when a couple is strolling down said streets, enjoying the coolness of the autumn winds.
They smile wistfully at the unique buildings surrounding them - the architecture just has that effect - and at that corner they spot a street artist, who has just seemed to finish setting up his stall.
“Honey, shall we have a couple portrait done? No need to queue this early!” The other simply nods his assent, and allows the other to drag him to the stall. Their approach alerts the artist, who perks up at the prospect of a new customer this early.
“Hello, do you want to have a drawing of you done?”
“Yeah sure! And omo, honey, will you just look at that!”
Amongst the artist’s display of wide repertoire; consisting of sketches, paintings and doodles of various styles, but what has caught the couple’s attention is a sketch of a couple, just like themselves, located right smack in the middle of the artist’s display. Both were beaming brightly, in fact, the intensity of the smiles has the left guy showing straight white squares of teeth and eyes shaped into adorable crescents. The guy on the right has an almost maniacal expression, with his right eye froze in mid-twitch on paper, but there could be no denying the love that practically radiates from the sketch.
“Oh, this couple? A memorable pair I must say! They came together just a couple weeks ago, and wanted to have their picture drawn, and then hung on my display. They were being all lovey dovey one second, and then bickering the next, but you could tell that they adore each other to bits. Insisted to have their couple name inscribed at the bottom too. I seldom acquiesce to such requests, but their eyes did that puppy thing, and I had too. Ah yes, I remember them well.”
The pair oh-ed and ahh-ed at the artist’s remark, and lean in to take a closer look. And there, scrawled in squiggly handwriting are the characters:
Chan.Baek.
Baek.Yeol.
“Why, they even squabbled over their couple name. The taller one only agreed after the shorter one surprised him with a kiss on the lips. Had to stop them before the kiss turned into a steamy make out session. Tsk, youths these days!”
- E N D -
T/N: Hongdae is an area in Seoul, and is named after Hongik University, which is located there. Hongdae means either the area, or the university itself.