Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sehun and Junmyeon, they’ve been together for a long time. They watched each other grow up, fit each other into perfectly appropriate brotherly molds before ruining it by trying to date other people. Junmyeon’s first budding relationships during adolescence couldn’t understand why they were always interrupted by a neighborhood kid with eyebrows too judgmental for such a young face. Similarly, Sehun’s dates didn’t much appreciate Junmyeon’s overwhelming presence dominating the conversation—even when he wasn’t there.

“My favorite is chocolate bubble tea, there’s this hyung who always buys it for me. His name is Junmyeon.”

“There’s this really nice place we should eat at, Junmyeon hyung recommended it.”

“Wait, wait, this wall is really aesthetic. I need to take a picture- Junmyeon hyung would love it.”

Junmyeon hyung, Junmyeon hyung, Junmyeon hyung...

In the end they really only had each other left, so naturally their relationship slipped past bromance to... just romance.

“Best decision I ever made,” Junmyeon says on their first year anniversary.

“Definitely the best decision you ever made,” Sehun agrees at their second year anniversary.

But old habits die hard; even when they have each other, there's still a certain thrill in dating other people. It’s a happy accident when they realize they’re better at dating other people when they do it together.

It starts with Luhan, who they meet at the grand opening of a new bubble tea shop in their neighborhood. Sehun’s a bit of a bubble tea enthusiast, so he drags Junmyeon along to wait in line for 45min before they can order. Sehun grabs a table while Junmyeon pays at the counter, and it’s while he’s waiting that someone approaches him.

At first, Sehun thinks it’s one of the workers, come to wipe the table clean—Sehun hadn’t waited for them to clear it out before he’d sat down—but he’s immediately assaulted by wide, doe eyes and a pretty face.

“Hi, I’m Luhan. Is anyone sitting here?” Luhan-the-stranger asks. Sehun is left a little speechless at the brazen introduction, unable to say no right away—or at all, in the end.

That’s how Junmyeon finds them just minutes later, Sehun struck dumb and Luhan settled into what should have been Junmyeon’s chair. The rest is history.

Luhan is all soft, sweet features and masculine habits. He’s older than both of them, a marketing director of some sort for an up and coming clothing company in China. He’s in town to help set up their foreign branch and is more than happy to meet people outside of work. Junmyeon and Sehun, in turn, are more than happy to play tourist guide.

They spend countless hours on the weekend exploring Gyeongbokgung palace and N Seoul Tour, wearing hanboks and taking pictures that are as cheesy as they are aesthetic. They hop from one hidden coffee shop to another in the Bukchon Hanok Village area, looking up popular places to eat through ratings on an app Luhan downloaded when he’d first arrived. It’s not his first time in Seoul, but it is his first time meeting people who were willing to see him outside of work.

It’s exhilarating to be with him; they both find his doe eyes and deceptively youthful looks captivating and they get along well enough. It’s clear, however, that he takes a special liking to Sehun and—the feelings were mutual.

While they don’t come out and say it directly with words, Junmyeon and Sehun make it clear that they share more than the usual hyung and dongsaeng relationship. Luhan is unfazed by this, dragging Sehun around to hunt for the best bubble tea in Seoul on the afternoons Junmyeon isn’t able to join them, buying him trinkets, and taking cute selfies together. They send Junmyeon all the pictures in the group chat they’d made for the three of them when they first met. Junmyeon loves to see the way Sehun blossoms under Luhan’s attention, becoming cute and pliant in a way he isn’t with Junmyeon.

He loves it so much he encourages it, feigning a headache or exhaustion after work, telling them to go and enjoy dinner without him, to eat well and take lots of pictures and send them his way. He asks for more when he gets them, one of Luhan, one of Sehun, the food, and then a bunch of the two of them together. They take cheesy pictures with finger hearts and peace signs, faces pressed together to fit into the frame. Junmyeon looks at these pictures and his heart is warm.

But before things can escalate beyond that, Luhan has to bid them a tearful goodbye, the duties that had brought him to Seoul completed.

They make all sorts of promises to stay in touch, to visit, to call—but all three of them know this little bit of something, this nugget of what could have been between them is over now. They drop Luhan off at the airport, and before he leaves, their first kiss is also their last.

“I’ll miss you, Sehun-ah,” he says, twisting in the passenger seat to reach for Sehun in the back. Sehun comes willingly, brows furrowed and eyes a bit damp. Junmyeon sees his lips trembling in the rear view mirror just before Luhan presses their mouths together in a chaste kiss.

“Hyung too,” Sehun says when Luhan pulls away.

“Of course,” Luhan replies, turning to Junmyeon in the driver’s seat.

“Oh, that’s okay, I—”

“Don’t be silly,” Luhan interrupts before leaning in to kiss Junmyeon too. His kiss is just as chaste, too brief and entirely too heartbreaking. Then, he’s gone.

Luhan’s departure leaves them with a feeling like a gaping hole, and it takes them months to recover, to work through the whirlwind of feelings Luhan’s sudden arrival and his bittersweet departure left them in.

They talk about it extensively, the two of them, of all the feelings involved, and ones that were not. They talk about the what if’s and the maybe’s, of all the possibilities and after many late nights, some of which are tear stricken or just a drunken haze, the conclusion they come to is that they love each other too much—so much that it only makes sense to share all that love with someone else.

Hindsight is 20/20 and while they don’t regret Luhan, they learn from him. They come to realize he’d never have been a good fit, not when they’re looking for something more permanent, more long term, someone who didn’t have a whole other life in another country.

So they try again.

Kris is tall, dark, and handsome, turning heads in the street just by walking by. Junmyeon meets him first, at work, for a photoshoot. At first Junmyeon thinks he’s the model, what with the easy way he commands the room in his understated business casual suit, clearly expensive if the tailored cut was anything to go by. His brows are thick, accentuating his piercing gaze, and framing the rest of his ridiculously handsome face. Their eyes meet once, and that’s all it takes for Junmyeon to be caught hook, line, and sinker.

Kris turns out to be the translator.

Zitao, the model Kris is translating for, is equally captivating. He’s not conventionally handsome but his dark gaze and sleek body lines keep Junmyeon’s camera busy. He speaks a little bit of Korean, but not enough to confidently follow Junmyeon’s instructions, and Junmyeon’s Mandarin is similarly lacking. Junmyeon is instantly charmed by Zitao’s somewhat clumsy greeting, accidentally calling Junmyeon oppa instead of hyung when Junmyeon suggests they speak more comfortably for the sake of the shoot. Kris helps them navigate this whole interaction with his deep voice blanketing the both of them in calm, steady assurance.

By the end of the shoot he’s got two international phone numbers added to his contact list and a burning need to brush up on his Chinese.

When he goes home to tell Sehun, he’d expected more trepidation but instead what gets is unbridled enthusiasm.

“Hyung, how can you not know Zitao?” Sehun says with exasperation. He waves his phone in front of Junmyeon, scrolling through Instagram posts with rapid fire flicks of his fingers. “How can you call yourself a fashion photographer and not know Zitao?”

Junmyeon can only shrug helplessly, overwhelmed by the number of followers listed on Zitao’s Instagram account. “I guess it’s a yes to dinner then?”

They end up going out to dinner, and then a club because Tao—he insists on being called Tao, but only because Junmyeon likes the way hyung rolls off his tongue—has VIP access. Kris tags along too, also at Tao’s insistence.

“We’re old friends,” Kris explains over dinner. “Someone has to keep him out of trouble.”

Tao has no qualms about his image and sticks his tongue out at the older man. “Half the trouble I cause is gege’s fault.” He says it in Chinese, and Junmyeon knows just enough to link the words with the quirk of his brow and Kris’s answering smirk.

He thinks about their interaction well after dinner and while they’re at the club. They get VIP access and treatment once again, provided with an empty booth covered in gauzy drapes overlooking the dance floor. Junmyeon leans against the edge of the little balcony, sipping on a glass of very good champagne. He’s not one for the club scene, but he can almost spy Tao and Sehun under the flickering strobe lights, their height and good looks making them stand out from among the crowd. Tao and Sehun had become fast friends, both too invested in social media and obscure fashion, and something like a language barrier couldn’t stop them from getting along.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Kris says, coming close to whisper the words into Junmyeon’s ear. He could have spoken a little louder and Junmyeon would have heard him. There was no need to come so close or to whisper, but Junmyeon’s slowly learning that tonight isn’t at all about needs.

His eyes have to travel farther and farther up before he can meet Kris’s gaze but Junmyeon doesn’t begrudge himself the journey. The only reason he wasn’t a model himself, Tao had explained in an adorable mix of Chinese and Korean—Kris had refused to translate for him - was because Kris had a horrible sense of fashion. Kris had rolled his eyes but he hadn’t denied it either.

“You and Tao...” He starts, whispering too, so Kris has to loom over him, press him up against the balcony just to hear.

“You and Sehun,” Kris counters, tipping Junmyeon’s head up with a finger under his chin.

There are no words after that, because he answers Kris’s unasked question by pulling him down for a kiss.

That’s how Tao and Sehun find them later, lips locked and hair mussed, with clothing disheveled and only a few valiant buttons holding on for dear life between them. Tao and Sehun themselves don’t look too far behind: Tao has eyeliner and glitter smeared all over and Sehun’s mouth looks too swollen to deny being kissed.

“Gege,” Tao says, pulling them away from the balcony and pushing them into the nearest plush couch. Junmyeon ends up in Kris’s lap with Tao and Sehun on either side, their large hands spanning his waist, roaming under his clothes and stroking up and down his thighs. Junmyeon can’t complain, not when the air feels too charged and their touch feels too electric. He feels small in between the three of them and he can’t say he doesn’t like it. Their gazes burn into his skin as much as the heat of their hands, but it’s only when Sehun kisses him that Junmyeon really gives in.

Sehun’s kiss and the fire in his eyes reminds Junmyeon that they had talked about this, that everything is okay, that they are okay. It’s all the reassurance Junmyeon needs to give in to the answering want that licks flames in his gut and curls his spine.

That night, Junmyeon gets fucked by three different cocks and wakes up in the morning pinned down by six different pairs of limbs. He can barely get out of bed to see Kris and Tao out the door, but Sehun’s there to princess carry him to and from the bedroom. He can’t say he hates that either.

“That was fun,” He murmurs into Sehun’s chest, nosing at the younger man’s sternum and wiggling in his embrace. He’s more on top of Sehun than the bed, no matter that the bed is big enough to fit three giants and Junmyeon, but he finds that he needs the closeness. Wants it, craves it, and seeks it out after all that had transpired the night before.

“It was,” Sehun agrees, his tone thoughtful. His hands are lazy against Junmyeon’s back, tracing his spine and squeezing his hips. Junmyeon is content to keep silent while he waits for Sehun to continue; sometimes Sehun needs time to gather his thoughts before he’s ready to speak, and Junmyeon more than understands. Last night was a big step for them, the equivalent of going from 0 to 100 in the span of hours. While they learned a lot from Luhan, it seems they have more to learn from Kris and Tao.

They don’t end up talking about it further that day, choosing to spend their time together cuddling in bed and enjoying their closeness. It’s not something they can afford to ignore for very long, but time isn’t really on their side.

Tao has a flight back to Beijing the very next day and Kris has to fly out to Canada shortly after to take care of some business. They’re spared any awkward or tearful goodbyes by Tao and his eye rolling, loudly announcing in suspiciously fluent Korean that he’ll be back in the country next month, so they’d better clear out their schedules because they’re definitely doing this again. Kris’s schedule is less forgiving, but he kisses each of them sweetly when he leaves, promising not to be a stranger.

When they do talk about it, they both agree that while Kris and Tao were fun to play with, they don’t quite fit the empty spaces Junmyeon and Sehun want to fill.

Which isn’t to say that they don’t play with Kris or Tao again. Over the next few months they meet the two often—sometimes together, sometimes not, sometimes they fall into bed, and sometimes its just coffee in between delayed flights or a quick dinner after schedules. Sometimes, Junmyeon is surprised at how easily they go from friends to lovers and back again. He’s grateful for every moment, loves discovering new ways for Sehun’s eyes to light up depending on who is teasing him, loves seeing him grow in the attention of others who’ve known all of him, in and out of the bedroom. Junmyeon is surprised at the discoveries about himself too, like the thrill he gets from indulging Tao’s every whim or challenging Kris’s questionable fashion choices.

They learn a lot from Kris and Tao, a lot about themselves and each other. When they talk about it again, Junmyeon and Sehun set new boundaries to encompass all they’ve learned. There are no tears this time, just hope that they’ll find someone soon who fits all their empty spaces.

So with open minds and open hearts, they’re ready to try again.

And again.

And again.

But no one seems quite right.

Kris introduces them to Jongdae, a friend and colleague of his who’d studied in China but was based in Seoul. Jongdae works for an entertainment company as both a lyricist and a Chinese translator for their Chinese trainees. Jongdae is fun, full of bright smiles and savage humor when provoked. His lightning wit and sunny disposition overshadow the true depth of his maturity and wisdom. But even though kissing Jongdae is electric, Junmyeon can’t see himself going beyond that. Sehun, to Junmyeon’s relief, agrees.

They meet Jongin through Tao. Jongin is another model, working for big name brands like Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, and Louis Vuitton. He’s so popular that even Junmyeon has heard of him, his name familiar when Tao mentions him over the phone. Junmyeon’s never worked with him directly, but he’s seen pictures and heard things from photographers in the industry. He and Tao are doing a shoot together in Seoul, and Tao brings him to dinner after.

Tao wheedles Junmyeon into taking them to one of their favorite Korean barbecue spots because the models are done shooting and are now free to gorge themselves on meat. Junmyeon gives in after the necessary allotted time to play hard to get, never mind that he wouldn’t have said no to Tao anyway. He doesn’t regret it either, because that’s when they meet Jongin. Jongin— beautiful, almost painfully handsome Jongin, even in just casual jeans and a T-shirt. Not that Tao or Sehun weren’t equally good-looking, but there’s just something about the way Jongin moves, the way he carries himself that makes Junmyeon itch to capture on film.

He’s as sweet as he is pretty, so even when he has to gently turn them down - he’s actually dating someone at the moment, he confides - Junmyeon and Sehun can’t muster up anything except mild disappointment. He does, however, agree to let Junmyeon take a few pictures, coming around and wedging himself into their lives even when Tao isn’t around. He and Sehun become fast friends, close enough in age and the number of followers they have on social media to get along well. Whenever Jongin has free time, Junmyeon often comes home to find the two of them curled around each other on the couch, poring over shared instagram posts and attempting something called TikTok. Junmyeon’s hard drive gets filled with pictures and videos of their silly antics.

For a while there, things slow down. Jongin’s gentle rejection had taught them a valuable lesson - not everyone they want will want them back. The revelation stings a little, but they don’t let it get in the way. Jongin’s presence and his friendship are more than fair trade for what could have been.

In the mean time, they’re content to play with Tao or Kris when either are in town. Jongin and Jongdae become staples in their daily lives. They even reconnect with Luhan when they find out that Tao gets signed on a new campaign with the older man’s company. It truly is a small world.

They try not to take things too seriously, playing it cool when Luhan appears in one of Tao’s Instagram stories, silly selfies ruining Tao’s aesthetic feed. Junmyeon is worried for just a little bit while he and Sehun stare at Luhan’s follow request on Instagram.

“Should I?” Sehun says absently, thumb hovering over the screen.

“It’s okay,” Junmyeon says, carding fingers through Sehun’s hair and answering the other, unasked question Sehun is holding back. “He was never ours, but he can still be yours. Your Luhan hyung.”

“Don’t want him if it’s without you,” Sehun says, ready to hit the delete button.

Junmyeon’s fingers still, that little bit of worry he had vanishing into thin air. He presses a kiss against Sehun’s forehead and reaches over to press the confirm button next to Luhan’s Instagram handle himself. “You can still be Instagram friends.”

Jongin drags Sehun to a dance class and they both come home with the dance instructor in tow.

Yixing says hello in accented Korean and Junmyeon is proud to welcome him into their home in more fluent Chinese than he was capable of six months ago. Yixing’s whole face lights up after that, flashing an adorable dimple at Junmyeon that never quite fades.

From there, it’s incredibly easy to integrate Yixing into their daily lives.

Sehun finds he has a real talent for dancing, taking classes even when Jongin isn’t around. He’s so good in fact, that Yixing takes him on as some kind of assistant—unofficially at first and then officially after much praise and encouragement. He doesn’t really need to work since Junmyeon already makes enough for both of them and happily shoulders the bulk of their expenses. That and he’s got somewhat of a following on various social media platforms that garner him some revenue through various ads and sponsorships. He’s had a dramatic increase in the number of followers over the past year, due in part to Tao and Jongin’s presence in his posts. He hates being labeled as an influencer, thinks it doesn’t fit his general aesthetic, but he’s had a few love calls from a few well known brands with offers that have both their brows climbing into their hairlines to deny it for much longer.

Long story short, he ends up taking Yixing’s offer as an assistant dance instructor to run away from the mounting pressures of his growing social media presence and Junmyeon can tell right away that it was the right decision. Sehun’s stress melts away once his festering anxiety gets a more physically taxing outlet. He only works a few times a week and so far only with Yixing, but being able to step back from his social media accounts for even a couple of hours a few times a week does wonders for his peace of mind. He often comes home tired, physically exhausted, but happy. It’s really the only thing Junmyeon ever wanted, for Sehun to be happy.

While dancing helps relieve his stress, Junmyeon thinks Yixing plays a big part too. Yixing himself is a calming presence, so warm and kind, but firm too. He dotes on Sehun—and Jongin too, when he’s around—spoils him with sweet words and easy skinship, just enough to curb Sehun’s bratty side, has Sehun wanting to please him instead of teasing him. Junmyeon would be jealous if he wasn’t exactly the same way.

Junmyeon wants Yixing’s attention enough to seek it out, inviting him to lunches and dinners, over to their house on weekends, to day trips and staycations outside of Seoul. He doesn’t always say yes, a little shy and maybe even a little wary, but Junmyeon always feels triumphant when he can get him to agree.

From there, things sort of just fall into place.

They fall into bed inevitably, his easy going nature making the conversation about open relationships surprisingly...easy. Yixing says he’s not about labels, but he feels a certain way about them both that’s certainly more than just friendly. He’s willing to see where their relationship goes if Junmyeon and Sehun are willing to be patient with him while he gets used to the idea. They are, of course, and since that discussion is followed by one of the hottest sexual experiences Junmyeon has ever had, he guesses Yixing is more than used to the idea already.

Yixing’s body in motion is like art work: beautiful and awe-inspiring at the same time. When he’s dancing, Junmyeon wants nothing more than to capture his beauty on film, to have a snapshot of that moment of passion he invokes with every movement. Yixing puts those dance moves to work in the bedroom as well, using his hips to wreck Junmyeon, teaching Sehun to do the same before wrecking him too.

But as easy as it is to be with Yixing, it’s also incredibly frustrating.

He’s a busy man, with hopes and dreams of expanding his dance studio. He works long hours, teaching during the day and practicing late into the night. He works too hard, pushing his body to its limits and then past them, injuring his back in the process. He doesn’t listen to them when they say to take it easy and it becomes a point of contention. Arguments erupt, little ones at first, about the way he insists he can take care of himself, and then big ones when they try to help him and he won’t accept.

“I think we need to take a break,” he says after one of the bigger arguments, repeating it in Korean when he catches himself lapsing into Chinese due to frustration. “I care about you guys but it always feels like it’s two against one. Like you’re ganging up on me.”

Speechless, they have no choice but to give him the space he wants.

That night, for the first time in a long time, when Junmyeon and Sehun talk, there are tears. They have to be ready for the possibility of a break up, of maybe giving up on their dream of filling up their empty spaces. It’s a hard conversation but one they need to have, because in the end Yixing teaches them about heartbreak. It’s not a lesson they wanted to learn, but it’s where they ended up anyway.

In true Yixing fashion, he’s kind about the parting ways, tears falling freely as he tells them he cares about them, loves them, but he’s not ready for the love they want to give him—at least not right now. He’s so sad about it, so clearly heartbroken and guilty, that they can’t help but comfort him, any thought about being angry with him almost unthinkable.

It’s not easy moving on from Yixing, but after, when Yixing has taken away the small scattering of his belongings that had found its way into their home and left only more empty spaces in their wake, that Junmyeon and Sehun agree to take a break. Not from each other, but from looking for a third. On the heels of this decision comes a reaffirmation of their feelings for each other, the love that bound them before growing even deeper. They learn to appreciate each other more, going on little dates more often and really taking time to be together, to reconnect.

They come out of it with hearts bruised but on the way to mending. It takes months, another season passing, a new year welcomed before they’re fully mended. They play with Kris and Tao, they go on a trip to see Luhan, they get an invite to Jongdae’s wedding. Jongin breaks up with whoever he’s dating and finally takes them up on that standing invitation into their bed. For a while, Junmyeon has his hands full with two brats in bed, Jongin just as needy and demanding as Sehun is, and it takes all of Junmyeon’s considerable prowess to keep up with them both. It’s fun, but stays casual—they all agree they’re too far into the friendzone to move past it, so they don’t bother trying.

They sleep with a few other people, a couple of one night stands that start and end under the cover of a busy dance floor, flashing colored lights and darkness. They don’t actively pursue anyone for more than that, still not quite over their last failed attempt. They’ve only just started to talk to Yixing again, tentative branches of friendship cautiously extended in the wake of their break up. Sehun had quit the studio when things fell apart, but it had been hard to stay away. He’s back again now, helping teach smaller classes that weren’t led by their former lover. It’s a small truce, delicate and aching but a step in the right direction.

Just when they thought they were content, able to ignore the empty spaces inside themselves and between them by filling it with each other—they meet Chanyeol.

Two years and almost half a dozen failed attempts—that’s how long Junmyeon and Sehun have been angling for a third, none of whom had quite fit, and all Park Chanyeol had to do was walk into a room to crumble their resolve.

“I really appreciate you doing this for me,” Baekhyun says as he leads Chanyeol into a large open space. “When Zitao called this morning and said he’d gotten food poisoning, I really thought I was going to die today. Minseok hyung has been on my ass-

Chanyeol almost chokes at his wording but he valiantly holds back.

“—about getting these prints out, but he just doesn’t understand. I’m not being lazy on purpose!”

“So you’re being lazy...by accident?” Chanyeol asks, fiddling with the sleeves of his jumpsuit. It’s supposed to be very expensive and very fancy, at least from what Baekhyun had told him, but to Chanyeol, it just feels like he’s wearing a denim onesie. He likes the fit of it though, loose on the bottom half but surprisingly fit in the arms and shoulders.

“I’m not being lazy at all!” Baekhyun scoffs, pretending to be offended. “I’m just—I don’t know—uninspired lately.”

“You mean you haven’t gotten laid lately.”

“Excuse you, I’m getting laid just fine,” Baekhyun insists, looking actually offended now.

“Right, because ‘just fine’ is what you want when getting laid,” Chanyeol teases. “Maybe if you let Minseok hyung hear he’ll—”

“My God, would you look at that!” Baekhyun says loudly, elbowing Chanyeol in the side.

“Ow—”

“Speak of the devil and he appears,” Baekhyun continues, uncaring whether or not Chanyeol is doubled over. “Good morning, Satan hyung, how are you today?”

“Just fine, Lucifer, and you?”

“Better, before you walked in but-”

“—But here I am, still paying you wages, even when you slack on the job,” Minseok answers coolly, looking severely handsome in a well tailored gray three piece suit and a to-go cup of coffee from the expensive looking cafe they’d passed by on the way to the set. “Who have you got for me?”

“This is Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says, taking his cues from the older man and smoothly transitioning into professional mode. “You remember Chanyeol right? He helped us build that bar set-up a few months ago for that speak-easy set you wanted in the last issue?”

“Ah, yes, Chanyeol.” Minseok’s piercing gaze scales Chanyeol from head to toe, making him feel small and his face inexplicably warm. “Of course I remember, how could I forget? You really do seem to always help Baekhyun out at the last minute, don’t you? First you’re a carpenter, now you’re a model. Tell me, Chanyeol-ah, what is it that you do again?”

“Oh, um—”

“He works in interior design,” Baekhyun answers for him. “But he also moonlights as a composer for music in video games and sometimes commercials.”

Minseok arches a brow at Baekhyun and says, “Why thank you, Chanyeol, for your answer.”

Baekhyun grins and gives him a cheeky thumbs up.

Minseok rolls his eyes before turning back to Chanyeol. “Really, though, Chanyeol. Thank you for volunteering today. We’ve pushed back this shoot for weeks now and if Baekhyun would still like to be employed here, we really can’t push it back any further.”

Beside them, Baekhyun gasps. “Hyung! You wouldn’t!”

“Don’t tempt me, Byun Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol can’t help but stare, eyes flitting from one to the other, almost feeling like a third wheel. Even if Baekhyun looks mildly scandalized, there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes that Chanyeol knows all too well—one that Minseok seems to recognize too, if their lingering gazes at each other were anything to go by.

“No problem, hyung,” Chanyeol says, wanting to cut the palpable sexual tension in the air by bringing the attention back to himself. “I’m always happy to help. I just hope I do well enough for your magazine.”

“Nonsense,” Minseok says, patting Chanyeol on the arm, his fingers warm even through the denim. He gives the muscle a squeeze, whether for reassurance or just to feel, Chanyeol’s knee jerk reaction is to flex. Minseok hums appreciatively. “You’re very handsome, and yet also very pretty. You’re tall and the clothes fit well. We’ll have to go for a slightly different vibe than if Zitao were here, but I think it will be a good fit.

“Don’t be daunted by the clothes or the set, or the magazine. The other model, as well as the photographer, are close friends of mine. I think you’ll get along with Sehun just fine, and Junmyeon loves meeting new people—especially if it’s someone as cute as you.”

Chanyeol can feel the heat surge in his cheeks again at the praise, inexplicably pleased by Minseok’s attention. “Ah, well, I hope I don’t disappoint. I don’t really know how to pose or anything like that.”

“Don’t worry, that’s what Baekhyun is here for. He’ll make sure you look good.”

Chanyeol gives Baekhyun a skeptical look.

Baekhyun shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s true. That’s my job here.”

“I never would have guessed,” Chanyeol deadpans. He knows his delivery is a success when Minseok claps him on the back with a snicker, somehow even more handsome when he isn’t exuding such intensity.

“I like you. You’re cute,” Minseok says to Chanyeol, adding a wink for maximum devastation. “Baekhyun might actually be worth the money I pay him today.”

“All right, that’s enough joking at my expense,” Baekhyun cuts in before Chanyeol can embarrass himself. “We need to get you to hair and makeup. Junmyeon hyung might be good, but we need to give him something to work with.”

“I’ll see you later, Chanyeol,” Minseok says with another overwhelmingly handsome smile. “Fighting!”

“Oh my God,” Chanyeol says, still a little dumbstruck when Baekhyun sits him in a makeup chair. They’re in another room just down the hall from the main set. It’s filled with mirrors and two long tables pushed up against the wall, endless brushes and colorful cases laid out on its surface. “That was—wow. I totally forgot how intense Minseok hyung is. He’s so—”

“Hey,” Baekhyun says while tapping him on the cheek none too gently with the handle end of a makeup brush. “He’s my hot boss. Hands off.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “As if. I’d never be his type.”

“Hey—” Baekhyun says again, whacking him even harder with the makeup brush this time. “Don’t sell yourself short. It’s not like you’re ugly.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Baekhyun says, sticking his tongue out to annoy Chanyeol. “But you’re totally right. Minseok hyung may be everyone’s type, but I know for a fact that you aren’t his type.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m his type.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes so hard he can feel them wanting to stick to the back of his eyelids. “Oh God, here we go.”

Baekhyun spends the next twenty minutes recounting all of his embarrassingly elaborate fantasies about how he and the older man could resolve their currently Unresolved Sexual Tension. Chanyeol would facepalm except that would ruin his makeup, and for all his exaggeration, Baekhyun isn’t wrong. He may have caught Minseok’s interest today, but it was obvious it was Baekhyun who had his full attention.

Chanyeol is ready to spend another half hour sitting in the makeup chair, just listening to Baekhyun extolling Minseok’s many, many attractive virtues, but he’s hip-bumped away by another man with thick brows and a surly expression.

“You talk too much,” the man says, his dark eyes squinting at Baekhyun while he swipes away the makeup brush in Baekhyun’s hand. “Junmyeon hyung and Sehun are here. They’re late, so why don’t you give them an earful instead?”

When Baekhyun leaves in a huff, Chanyeol can’t help but sit up straight when the other man takes up Baekhyun’s space in front of him. “Kyungsoo, right?” Chanyeol asks a little nervously. “I’m Chanyeol.”

The other man’s eyes narrow, almost into slits as he peers at Chanyeol, the look on his face increasingly displeased.

“Yeah, one second,” he says in a voice so deep Chanyeol is reminded of the earth rumbling. It’s simultaneously pleasing and scary, and Chanyeol doesn’t know if the sound makes him want to sit and listen all day, or tuck tail and run.

He isn’t given much of a choice when the other man comes back. He’s got on thick, black rimmed glasses but without the squinting glare. His eyes are wide and apologetic, full lips up turned into a shy smile.

“Sorry about that,” he says with that same deep voice but with a smooth lilt upwards, his tone contrite. “I forgot to grab my glasses when I went looking for Baekhyun. I don’t see very well without them and people have told me I look a little scary when I’m squinting.”

“Oh, no, not too scary,” Chanyeol starts, ears tingling at the sound of his voice. “Or, well, I guess a little scary,” Chanyeol amends when Kyungsoo merely lifts a sardonic brow at him. It’s clear he’s aware just how intimidating he can look.

Kyungsoo smiles at him and Chanyeol is left thinking, asking himself why he’s the one in the makeup chair instead of literally everyone else he’s met so far. Hell, even Baekhyun was far from ugly—he could easily be the model instead of...whatever it was he actually did. Minseok and Kyungsoo were no exception.

Kyungsoo works much quicker than Baekhyun does, probably because he isn’t waxing poetic about their boss. His hands are gentle, however, and very thorough, as are his eyes. Kyungsoo’s attention to detail makes Chanyeol feel shy, unable to meet his very scrutinizing gaze. Still, he’s on to Chanyeol’s hair, running product through with his hands when Baekhyun walks back in.

“All right, enough yapping,” he says, and it sounds like he’s dragging along someone behind him. “First Tao gets food poisoning and now you guys are late. Time is ticking! Are you guys trying to get me fired?”

“No, you do a good job of that all on your own,” a new voice answers. Chanyeol is unable to turn his head just yet with Kyungsoo’s hands still doing magic with his hair, but he calls out a greeting anyway, just to be polite.

“Hello, I’m Chanyeol. I’ll be working with you today.”

“Oh, so you’re Tao’s replacement?” The new voice asks somewhere to his left. Kyungsoo tugs his head right back into place the moment he tries to turn it.

“Stay still,” Kyungsoo admonishes gently with a playful tug to Chanyeol’s ear.

He does his best to hide just how sensitive his ears are, but Chanyeol doesn’t think he does a very good job stifling the little sound he makes. Kyungsoo raises a brow at him again, this time less sardonic and more…intrigued.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol says quietly, mortified.

Kyungsoo shakes his head with a barely there but still devastating quirk of his lips. “Don’t be,” he says, following up the words with a firmer tug to the ends of Chanyeol’s hair.

Chanyeol can’t help the way his eyes flutter at that, and when he opens them again it’s to find someone else standing next to him.

“Whoa,” he says, the word unbidden and as much a reaction to the work of Kyungsoo’s hands as it is to seeing someone so incredibly handsome standing in front of him all of a sudden. He can’t possibly be anyone else except Sehun, the other model.

“Hello,” Chanyeol says again, his attempted bow quickly aborted by Kyungsoo’s insistent fingers.

“Don’t be rude, Sehun-ah,” Kyungsoo says with a click of his tongue. Chanyeol doesn’t know who exactly it's aimed at. “He’s my age. You should introduce yourself properly.”

Sehun, for his part, complies immediately. “Hello, I’m Sehun. Nice to meet you.” The words are accompanied with a polite bow and a subtle grin that makes Chanyeol’s ears go hot all over again. Fuck, Chanyeol thinks, less than thirty seconds into meeting each other and he’s already making a fool of himself.

“Okay, that’s enough chit-chatting!” Baekhyun exclaims, saving Chanyeol from having to reply by pulling Sehun away and into the second makeup chair at another station. “You can get to know each other later. You’re late, and you haven’t changed, your hair’s a mess. I guess I should be glad you even bothered to wash it this morning! You’re lucky you have such nice skin or else the makeup would be an absolute nightmare—”

“Done,” Kyungsoo declares quietly, the words almost lost in the din of Baekhyun’s ongoing rant. He moves out of the way of the mirror so Chanyeol can take a better look at himself. “You’ll have to go out and introduce yourself to Junmyeon hyung on your own. If I don’t help Baekhyun now, we’ll be here all day.”

Chanyeol makes another little noise when he sees his reflection, this time one of surprise. “Whoa—” He knows he isn’t ugly, just like Baekhyun had said, but he doesn’t think he’s ever looked like this before.

His skin looks perfect, even against the bright lights of the vanity. It looks dewy, almost wet—healthy, as if he ate clean, drank water, and got enough sleep on the regular. His face looks chiseled, cheekbones out and the center of his face highlighted so well he glowed. Then there was his hair.

He’d gone blonde a few weeks ago, wanting to try something new, and while it had looked great straight out of the salon, he hadn’t factored in having to style it himself afterward. When he’d been unable to get it to look halfway decent at home, he’d taken to using caps and beanies just so he didn’t have to deal with it anymore. Now though—now it looked amazing. Kyungsoo had done some kind of magic, Chanyeol is sure of it, to get it to look this artfully tousled.

“You look great. Now get out of here.” Kyungsoo says, already putting away his supplies before he joins Baekhyun at Sehun’s chair.

Effectively dismissed, Chanyeol has no choice but to make his way back onto the main set. A dozen more people seem to have arrived since he’d sat down to get his make up done, setting up various props and equipment against a neutral background. Chanyeol bows and greets everyone he passes, trying to figure out which one is Junmyeon. In the midst of the set’s organized chaos, Chanyeol aims for the man holding onto a camera and directing some people holding lighting equipment. He approaches hesitantly, just in case he’s wrong.

“Hello,” Chanyeol calls out at half his usual volume, not wanting to startle anyone or seem impolite. “I’m Chanyeol. I’ll be working with you today.”

“Oh, hello Chanyeol. I’m Junmyeon, the photographer today.”

Chanyeol’s never been one for dramatics—exaggeration, sure, but nothing at Baekhyun’s level—but almost like some kind of scene in a movie, everything slows down around him. The lighting people adjust their equipment in their direction just as the man holding the camera turns to him with a soft smile and holds out a hand for him to shake. For a moment, the man—Junmyeon—is illuminated from behind, and Chanyeol is quite literally blinded by the man’s beauty: wide eyes, a straight nose, and a strong chin. He’s so dazed that he holds out his own hand a beat too late, his fingers wrapping around a soft, delicate palm maybe a tad too long. When he tries to pull away, the hand holding his doesn’t let go.

“It’s so nice to meet you Chanyeol,” Junmyeon says, letting the camera dangle at his neck so he can hold Chanyeol’s hand with two of his own. “I want to thank you so much for coming in at such short notice and filling in for Zitao.” He gives Chanyeol’s hand a warm, gentle squeeze, eyes lit up in gratitude.

It’s a lot of direct eye contact and unexpected hand holding. Chanyeol cannot be blamed at the way he stutters out a reply.

“N-no no, not at all- Baekhyun, he, um- we’re friends, see. And of course I’m uh, more than happy to help!” Chanyeol puts a stop to his stammering as quickly as he can, bottle-capping his word vomit before it can go on any longer. It’s a harder feat than expected, especially when Junmyeon doesn’t let go of his hand, just pats the top of it while he lets out an amused chuckle.

“You’re a good friend, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon says, leading him to a chair next to the table with a monitor and what looks like other camera accessories. He bids Chanyeol to sit down while he himself remains standing, finally letting go of Chanyeol’s hand to hike up one slender, denim clad leg and sit casually on the table. “Tell me, have you done any modeling before, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol has to blink several times before he can answer, the new angle of Junmyeon’s face that he’s getting is no less handsome and it keeps him dazed. His hand, no longer held by Junmyeon’s soft ones, feels inexplicably lonely. “Um, not really. Nothing professional. My parents own a restaurant and they had me pose for the promotional fliers.”

Junmyeon laughs at that, the sound soft and melodious, making Chanyeol’s ears tingle. “That counts,” Junmyeon says, his tone lightly teasing. “With your looks, I’m sure you bring in a lot of customers.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Chanyeol says, face going warm at the unexpected compliment.

“Nonsense. You’re very handsome,” Junmyeon says, breaking eye contact but Chanyeol feels his gaze everywhere instead, from the top of his head, across the breadth of his shoulders, down his torso and the length of his legs. The weight of his gaze is not at all sticky, nothing like those of the women who visit his parent’s restaurant and stare when he helps out. Junmyeon looks at him with the kind of critical eye only a professional photographer could bestow, and if Chanyeol thinks its a little more warm and appreciative, that’s probably just all in his imagination.

“You may not have any experience modeling, but you look like you take direction very well,” Junmyeon continues, a little smile on his face and a glint in his eyes that makes Chanyeol go warm all over.

“I do—” Chanyeol has to slow down, curb some of his enthusiasm because the way Junmyeon looks at him makes his heart rate pick up. “I take direction very well. So well. Just. Tell me what to do and I. Do it.”

Junmyeon laughs again, more of that melodious sound that has his ears tingling and his fingers itching to strum out chords on his guitar. They continue to make small talk and pleasantries that slowly relieve Chanyeol of his low simmering anxiety. Talking to Junmyeon is easy—he’s polite and kind, and seemingly genuinely interested in the things Chanyeol has to say. By the time Junmyeon coaxes him to his feet and asks him to try out some poses, Chanyeol is already less nervous and is able to form whole sentences without stuttering when Junmyeon puts his hands on him again.

“There you go,” he says, aiming the camera at Chanyeol. “Shoulders back a little and tilt your head towards me. Perfect. You’re looking great.”

Junmyeon has him try a set of different poses standing up before asking him to sit on a stool. Someone comes over to adjust the lighting or his clothes, sometimes to pat him on the nose with a powder puff or apply gloss to his lips. There’s music playing in the background, a mix of American pop and bubblegum girl group songs. The atmosphere is light and fun, and Chanyeol can’t help himself, he doesn’t feel like he’s working at all. Junmyeon is generous with his praise, calling out loudly over the music how Chanyeol looks so good, how his pictures are coming out so well, how he’s such a natural.

It makes him feel giddy, bubbling with happiness that overflows and makes it hard for him to control his laughter and his expression when Junmyeon asks him to lay on the floor and give him a sultry look.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Chanyeol says, flailing a little on the ground to get a hold of himself. He takes a deep breath and scrunches up his nose every which way until his face relaxes and his smile goes away. A makeup noona kneels over him briefly to pat around his mouth and eyes before he calls out, “Okay, I’m ready.”

“All right, look here,” Junmyeon says, coming up a little closer and kneeling beside him for some close up shots. “One hand on your stomach, the other just over one eye. Like this—“ he reaches for Chanyeol and adjusts his hands and the collar of his jumpsuit. He tilts Chanyeol’s chin up just enough to extend his neck, turning it a little to the side. Then he runs his hands through Chanyeol’s hair, personally fluffs it up and curls a piece along his temples.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, making more of that intense eye contact. This time though, instead of wanting to run away, it makes Chanyeol stay in exactly one place, perfectly still, just as Junmyeon directs. “Perfect. Don’t move. Look at me—yes, give me a little more fire in the eyes. Relax your shoulders.”

There’s something about the quality of Junmyeon’s voice that not only makes Chanyeol’s ears tingle, but also appeals to some deep, primal part of his brain. It might be a combination of his voice and his quietly commanding aura, but Chanyeol finds it hard not to obey. Even if looking Junmyeon in the eyes as he tells Chanyeol just how pretty he thinks he is, makes his heart race and heat suffuse his cheeks.

“You follow directions so well,” Junmyeon says as he offers a hand to help Chanyeol sit up. “It's refreshing! No one ever listens to me around here. I think maybe it’s because I’m too nice—”

“No, it’s because you like a challenge,” a familiar voice interjects, walking up to them from behind.

Maybe he’d gotten up too quickly because the way Sehun looks makes Chanyeol feel a little light headed. He didn’t think Sehun could get anymore handsome than he already did with no makeup and casual clothes, but he’s sorely mistaken. Now in fitted trousers and a black striped shirt that make him look wider, taller—Chanyeol can’t describe him as anything less than devastatingly handsome. The shirt is unbuttoned at the collar, a black tie loose around his neck, giving just a hint of toned chest. He’s styled a little more fitted than himself, showing off the broadness of his shoulders and the tapering of his hips. His dark hair is gelled back on the sides but long pieces of it are pulled to the front, brushing his nose and just underneath his eyes. He looks classy and cool. Chanyeol doesn’t know how he’s supposed to match that.

“I’m only a brat because you want me to be,” Sehun continues, giving Chanyeol an interested once over.

Junmyeon rolls his eyes with a snort, nothing more than a little puff of air that doesn’t make him any less attractive. “Is that right? You’re a brat for my sake?”

Sehun throws Junmyeon a look Chanyeol can’t read, but there’s something to the quirk of his lips that leaves him curious. “Kyungsoo hyung says you guys are the same age,” Sehun says, turning his attention back to Chanyeol who is now sitting awkwardly on the floor, not sure if he should get up or not, or if Junmyeon was satisfied with his pictures. “Should we try and speak more comfortably? Can I call you hyung?”

Startled at the very sudden and direct questioning, Chanyeol doesn’t know how to answer right away, laughing awkwardly. “Haha- I, u-uh—”

“Sehun, don’t be rude,” Junmyeon admonishes, swatting the man in question on the leg. To Chanyeol, he says, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but only if you’re comfortable. You can call me hyung too, if you’d like.”

“Y-yeah, I’d like that, actually,” Chanyeol says, uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. He can feel his ears go warm again, the heat creeping up along his neck. Whether it’s because he’s embarrassed or pleased at the unexpected turn of events, Chanyeol can’t tell.

“All right then hyung,” Sehun says, emphasizing the honorific as if he knew exactly how Chanyeol felt about the word. “It’s my turn now.”

Junmyeon scolds him again for being rude even if it’s obvious Sehun is just teasing. They have such an interesting dynamic that Chanyeol can’t help but watch, entertained by their exchange. There’s a push and pull to them, an easy back and forth, a chemistry that he can’t help but envy. It’s clear that they’re comfortable with each other, from the way Sehun doesn’t hesitate with his words, teasing Junmyeon mercilessly. It’s obvious in the way that Junmyeon rolls with the punches, teasing back and playing the role of doting hyung perfectly.

But then there’s also the way Junmyeon’s fingers linger in Sehun’s hair when he pushes a stray lock of it back, or the way Sehun watches Junmyeon too intently when the older man is speaking, but Sehun’s not looking at his eyes—he’s looking at Junmyeon’s mouth, the way he forms the words and has to repeat directions more than once because Sehun is looking at him but not quite paying attention.

These little things that catch Chanyeol’s eye are only possible because Chanyeol finds himself staring, captivated by the both of them. Sehun not only looks amazing but he makes posing look so easy, turning his body this way and that, making every shot look good. Strangely enough, they’re quiet once they start seriously working but maybe it’s because it’s obvious they’ve worked together before. Sehun knows exactly how to pose and Junmyeon in turn, seems to know how to capture all of his perfect angles. Sehun’s individual session goes more smoothly and takes a considerable amount of time less than Chanyeol’s had.

“Alright, enough ogling,” Baekhyun days, tugging him by the front of his denim onesie. “We’re wasting daylight and you’ve got to get changed.”

The next outfit he’s put into has more multiple pieces of clothing, layers of long sleeves and loose pants. It’s different shades of dark blue and plaid that make Chanyeol sweat underneath the lights. His hair stays the same and he’s endlessly grateful to the staff that are kind enough to keep patting away his sweat and touching up his makeup.

Sehun comes out in similar shades of blue, in only one layer—Chanyeol envies his short sleeved pullover and loose black pants.

They pose together this time. Junmyeon has them stand side by side, hands in pockets and gazing into the camera with matching intense gazes. Chanyeol attempts a smolder but doesn’t think he quite succeeds, not when he sees Sehun frown at him from the corner of his eye.

They take a few more shots like that, but it’s obvious Chanyeol is starting to struggle, both his poses and expression increasingly awkward. His heart plummets when even Junmyeon comments on it.

“Why don’t we take a quick break?” He says to the room at large. There’s a collective murmur of assent as people go about rearranging the set.

“These aren’t bad,” he says when they get to where Junmyeon’s uploaded their pictures onto a monitor. His tone is clearly placating and Chanyeol feels embarrassment balloon in his chest. “But you do look a little stiff here though, Chanyeol. Try to relax a little more, okay?”

Chanyeol can only nod quietly, chewing on the inside of his cheek as Baekhyun comes to collect them again. He informs them that they have a 15min break before it’s time to change again and that they’ll be heading outside for the next half of the shoot. Chanyeol takes his water bottle and plate of snacks and finds himself a couch corner to squeeze into, feeling small and dejected.

“Hey.”

Sehun approaches him not long after, carrying his own water bottle and snack plate. His growing sense of embarrassment and bubbling anxiety increase when Sehun sits next to him on the couch, close but not quite touching.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just—I don’t think the last shots were very good. I-I’m sorry.”

“You we’re doing well when you were shooting by yourself,” Sehun says quietly, fiddling with a grape between his fingers. “Is it me? Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“Ah, no!” Chanyeol exclaims, maybe a little too loudly because Sehun startles a little, eyes going wide and the grape in his hand jumping. “No, it’s not you, not really. It’s me. It’s just—everyone here is so good looking and so professional. You and Junmyeon hyung, Kyungsoo, even Baekhyun! I guess...I guess I’m just feeling a little out of place, that’s all. Sorry.” He apologizes again, unable to look at Sehun, not wanting to see the look on his face after Chanyeol’s impulsive bout of honesty.

“There’s no need for you to feel that way,” Sehun says, nudging Chanyeol’s knees with his own. “You’re really handsome, hyung.”

The compliment is a complete surprise to Chanyeol and he can’t help but stammer. “T-thanks.”

“So you agree? You think you’re really handsome?” Sehun’s tone is teasing and unexpectedly playful. Chanyeol smiles, unbidden and a little reluctant.

“Well, Baekhyun says I’m not ugly...”

“He’s not the most credible person around here but this time he’s right,” Sehun says, all cheek.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol says, both his answer and his smile more genuine.

The rest of their break is spent chatting amicably and Chanyeol is grateful for Sehun’s company. In contrast to his aloof and disinterested first impression, Sehun is actually the complete opposite. As they talk, Chanyeol finds himself endlessly charmed by the younger man’s slight lisp and well hidden earnestness. By the time Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are ushering them back into the dressing room to change, Chanyeol is feeling more relaxed and comfortable, the anxiety that had been eating at his insides all but disappearing.

They’re both wearing sweaters this time, Chanyeol’s a bright yellow-green and Sehun’s a dark blue with lettering all across the middle. They’ve changed Sehun’s hair too, the dark locks looking damp and parted down the middle. It’s a style that wouldn’t look flattering on just anyone, but Sehun pulls it off flawlessly.

The next set is outside, up a flight of stairs to the rooftop. It’s the end of April and the weather is warming up, the sun is shining brightly and Chanyeol is thankful that the breeze at least, is cool.

Junmyeon explains the theme of the set up, something more fun and carefree. There are bright balloons and mini blow up cushions, a table full of various gadgets for them to test and try out. “Just play around and have fun. We’ll take a few more serious shots from up there later—” Junmyeon points at a raised scaffolding on a part of the rooftop where they’ve erected a white wall. “For now, just relax and don’t mind me too much,” he says, lifting his camera and aiming it at them.

It’s a little easier said than done, and some of Chanyeol’s earlier anxiety churns briefly in his stomach again. But Sehun is quick to distract him, picking up two disposable film cameras and handing Chanyeol one.

“‘Just relax and don’t mind me too much’,” Sehun says, doing a poor—but obvious—impersonation of Junmyeon. The flash of the disposable camera as he aims it abruptly into Chanyeol’s face pulls a startled laugh out of him.

“Hey—” Chanyeol cries out, a grin splitting his cheeks as he bats Sehun’s hands away and tries to retaliate with a stolen picture of his own. “I wasn’t ready!”

“That’s the point!”

Their laughter is accompanied by the amused sound of others joining in as the staff on standby watch their antics. Chanyeol can hear Baekhyun somewhere in the background, egging them on. He thinks he might hear Kyungsoo too, shushing Baekhyun for being too loud.

They go through the various toys on the table—remote control cars, old game boys, and even an etch-a-sketch—for some time and Chanyeol is definitely a lot more comfortable now. He likes this theme better, being able to smile freely and play around, no awkward smolder or serious expressions required. He finds that he likes Sehun too, the way he tries to make Chanyeol laugh and distract him from the constant clicking of Junmyeon’s camera. It’s very subtle, the way he leads Chanyeol’s attention, making Chanyeol focus on him instead of the set or the staff. Chanyeol is all too willing to be preoccupied with Sehun’s all too handsome face, his smiling eyes, and the sound of his infectious laugh.

“I like this,” Junmyeon says once they’ve exhausted all the toys on the table. He isn’t looking at his camera. “You guys look really good together.”

Heat blooms in Chanyeol’s stomach at his words, a different one from the simmering, low key embarrassment he’s been feeling all day. No, this heat is a little less familiar and made a lot more dangerous by the way Sehun leans into him, an arm thrown around Chanyeol’s shoulders and their faces pulled close.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Sehun says, laughing when Junmyeon does.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Junmyeon says in that indulgent way Chanyeol’s quickly learned is reserved just for Sehun. “Actually, Chanyeol why don’t you go sit on that stool. Just put one hand in your pocket—the right one, yeah—and slouch a little. Okay, good.” He crouches low on the ground as he tells Sehun to sort of hang off Chanyeol from behind, one arm and his chin hooked over Chanyeol’s shoulders.

“Yeah, that’s it’s,” Junmyeon says, his voice taking on a tone of satisfaction. “Look here, look down at me.”

The sun is a little too bright and Chanyeol is more than happy to look down instead of squint up against the sun. He still has to narrow his eyes a little against the large reflectors some staff are holding right beside them for better lighting, just out of the range of Junmyeon’s lenses. Junmyeon doesn’t call him out on the squinting though, so Chanyeol figures he’s doing something right.

“Relax, hyung,” Sehun murmurs from way too close to his ear. His other hand lands on Chanyeol’s hip, fingers light but undeniably present along the crease of his thigh.

“I am relaxed,” Chanyeol says, even as his shoulders go tense when he feels Sehun’s breath on his neck.

It’s an amused puff of air that Chanyeol’s sure is accompanied by a playful roll of his eyes. “Mhmmm.”

“Okay, now why don’t you two switch,” Junmyeon says, bringing their attention back to him. “Chanyeol, stay sitting on the stool. Sehun, come around and lean against him.”

“Like this?” Sehun aligns his back to Chanyeol’s chest and Chanyeol has to widen his stance to give Sehun space to come closer. He’s practically sitting in Chanyeol’s lap and Chanyeol doesn’t know what to do with his hands.

“Chanyeol, pull him in closer with an arm over his shoulder and then across his chest. Not all the way around just let it hang.”

Chanyeol’s arm flails a little as he tries to make sense of the instructions, flustered at the broadness of Sehun’s shoulders pressed against him.

“Here,” Sehun says, pulling at Chanyeol’s wrist until he’s practically being hugged from behind, casually leaning more of his weight on one of Chanyeol’s thighs. Chanyeol can’t help but notice that in contrast to the hard muscles of his back, Sehun’s ass is plush but firm, and way too close to his crotch.

“Just relax,” Sehun reminds him, tugging Chanyeol’s other hand so that it rests casually against one of his thighs. “You can come closer or hold me, I don’t mind.”

“Okay, sorry.” The apology spills automatically and Chanyeol has to stifle the impulse to apologize for apologizing.

Sehun gives him a reassuring pat on the knee just as Junmyeon tells Chanyeol to prop his chin on Sehun’s shoulder. “Move in a little closer, almost as if you’re trying to smell his neck.”

Chanyeol lets out a nervous laugh but obeys, moving his face a few centimeters to the right until Junmyeon says it’s perfect.

“Okay, now just stay still, relax, close your eyes and enjoy the breeze and the sunshine.” His words are followed by the sound of his camera going off multiple rounds. He takes their picture from different angles, asking them to make minute adjustments every now and then.

Chanyeol takes slow, measured deep breaths and eventually even he lets go of the residual tension and goes lax. His eyes close and his hands come up to steady him when Sehun shifts in his lap, turning his head slightly so Chanyeol’s nose grazes him just behind the ear. He can smell his cologne, a light, subtle scent that reminds Chanyeol of baby powder, hidden beneath layers of hairspray and cosmetics.

Sehun shivers against him. “That tickles.”

“Oh, s—”

Before Chanyeol can apologize again, Junmyeon tells them not to move a muscle. “Don’t even breathe,” he says. “Keep your eyes closed. This is it. This is the money shot, guys.”

The money shot? Who says that? Chanyeol has a hard time holding in his laughter at Baekhyun’s voice, thinking the same thing.

All too soon the moment is over and Sehun is pulling away, walking over to Junmyeon and demanding to see their pictures. Chanyeol remains frozen in place for another breath, at a loss at the sudden emptiness and lack of warmth in his arms. He shakes head to ward off the feeling, quickly making his way over to where everyone else had gathered. Someone had erected a little stand covered in dark cloth with a laptop inside so they could upload the pictures on a bigger screen.

“These are really good,” Junmyeon says when Chanyeol peeks inside the cloth. Junmyeon is clicking through the pictures a little too quickly for Chanyeol to get a good look. “Minseok will love these.”

Chanyeol moves out from under the cloth when Junmyeon says they have one more set to shoot and starts to talk to Baekhyun and Kyungsoo regarding details about which clothes and what look to go for. Chanyeol takes this transition time to run to the bathroom, spending a few minutes to take some mirror selfies to send to his mom. When he gets back, Baekhyun is quick to sit him down in a chair to touch up his makeup and hand him some clothes.

His last outfit is another long sleeved shirt, a black button up in a thinner material with a black and white graphic tee over it. Baekhyun hands him black fitted trouser and boots to match. Sehun is in something similar, a white button up covered in tiny logos and oversized dark jeans. They’re led outside again, the raised scaffolding with a white background. It’s high enough to require a short ladder and Chanyeol takes it upon himself to climb first. He holds out a hand for Sehun to hold onto on his own way up and they sit side by side, definitely more comfortable with each other now.

Sehun casually throws an arm over his shoulders without being told and pulls Chanyeol close, pointing at where Junmyeon is on his own ladder from a few feet away to take their pictures.

“He’s afraid of heights,” Sehun snickers into Chanyeol’s ear, and Chanyeol finds himself laughing along at the way Junmyeon is clutching at the sides of the ladder only a few rungs off the floor, struggling to climb higher where he needs to be. Below him, Baekhyun is holding one side of the ladder and slapping him on the ass to get him moving. Kyungsoo is on the other side, a wide grin on his face and clearly not helping.

“All you guys are close,” Chanyeol says, stating the obvious.

“We run around a lot of the same circles for work,” Sehun answers, keeping Chanyeol close. “Junmyeon hyung does a lot of freelance photography for just about all the major fashion magazines, but the only one he has a contract with is Minseok hyung’s company.”

“How long have you been a model?”

Sehun hums, making a face before he answers. “I’m not actually a model, at least not by profession.”

“Oh, but you’re so good at it,” Chanyeol exclaims, genuinely surprised.

Sehun shrugs, his big shoulders rubbing all along the part of Chanyeol’s back where they’re pressed together. “I’ve picked up a few things here and there, hard not to when you’ve got friends in the industry and live with a photographer.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen again in surprise. “You and Junmyeon hyung live together?”

He feels Sehun stiffen against him slightly. The younger man pulls back to look at him fully. “Yeah, we do,” he says quietly, eyes serious and suddenly unreadable. “We live together. We’ve known each other a long time and he’s a very important person to me.”

Chanyeol gets the feeling he means more than that but he has no idea how to ask outright without seeming nosy or rude so he scrambles for something else to say. “Oh wow, that actually makes a lot of sense! No wonder he doesn’t mind at all when you tease him. You two must be super close!”

Sehun’s serious expression softens enough for him to smirk a little. “Yeah, that’s one way to describe us.”

“Alright look here!” Junmyeon calls out to them before Chanyeol can think of a reply. He’s climbed high enough on the ladder to rest an elbow on the top step, his other arm wrapped tightly around one of the ladder’s legs. “Just keep looking friendly like that so we can be done here.”

Everyone joins in to laugh at the high pitched tone his voice is taken on.

The rest of the shoot goes by quickly, due in part to Junmyeon’s hurry to get back on solid ground, but mostly because it’s much easier now to pose with Sehun. They’re more comfortable with each other, linking arms and making silly faces, half serious expressions channeling old timey boy bands and leaning back on their hands pretending to look cocky. It’s easily the most fun Chanyeol has had the whole shoot, and it passes way too quickly.

All too soon Junmyeon is scrambling down his ladder, screeching half way through when Baekhyun shakes it so it wobbles and Kyungsoo pokes his ass with a speared hand between the cheeks.

Choruses of thank you, you’ve worked hard ring out and Chanyeol gets a dozen hands clapping his back in a gesture of a job well done on his way to the dressing room to change. He’s the only one there when he walks in with Baekhyun at his heels to collect the remaining clothes.

“So, how was today?” Baekhyun asks, not even bothering to look away as Chanyeol undresses.

“It was fun,” Chanyeol answers honestly as he strips down to his underwear. It feels a little strange to put on his own clothes, his oversized hoodie and matching track pants feeling surprisingly foreign after all the outfits he’s tried on today. “It was a bit of a rough start, and then a little touch and go here and there, but over all I think this was a great experience.”

“Good,” Baekhyun nods in satisfaction. “I know this isn’t really your scene and it was a lot for me to ask of you all of a sudden but you still accepted and on top of that, did so well today. So—thanks.”

“Ew, don’t be weird,” Chanyeol says, making a face even as he feels it go red and playfully punches Baekhyun in the shoulder. “Of course I’ll help you out whenever you need me to. That’s a given. That’s what best friends are for so stop being weird.”

“Yeah, okay, but I definitely owe you one.”

“Dinner is on you and we’ll call it even. I want meat,” Chanyeol grins, all teeth.

Baekhyun hands him a makeup wipe and they shake on it. “Deal.”

“There is one other thing, though...” Chanyeol chews on his lip, hesitating, not quite knowing how to ask or if it would be right to ask Baekhyun of all people. “Sehun and Junmyeon hyung.”

“What about them?” Baekhyun asks, handing him a round cotton pad soaked in toner to clean his face with again.

“Are they...?”

“Together?” Baekhyun finishes for him. He looks behind him at the closed door before standing in front of Chanyeol and leveling him with a look. “I don’t like to gossip about the people I work with but because you're my best friend, I will. They haven’t come out and said anything to anyone, but it’s a pretty open secret around here that they’re practically married. So you need to be careful and keep yourself in check.”

Chanyeol frowns, cotton pad and skin care all but forgotten. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Baekhyun crosses his arms across his chest, eyes flicking to the door once more and lowering his voice. “It means, I saw how you were looking at Sehun today. You went all heart eyes during the shoot and I’m pretty sure Junmyeon hyung caught it on camera. That’s expected—Sehunnie is super handsome and super cute—but he’s all but confirmed to be taken so you need to make sure that your little crush stays just that. A little crush.”

“They could—they could just be really close friends,” Chanyeol argues, even though he knows it’s futile. “You and I are also friends and really close.”

“Yeah, but we don’t look like we fuck.”

“We haven’t not—”

“Okay, we’ve played around—what's a friendly hand job between friends, right?—but we haven’t played around like that. They look like they play around and then play house. They clearly do not have even the tiniest boundaries like we do.”

“We shouldn’t assume—”

“No, but this is more than just an assumption. How am I supposed to let you go pining after someone who looks like they’re already in a long term relationship?”

“Maybe they’re just fuck buddies or something.”

“You really wanna get with someone who is just fuck buddies with someone like Junmyeon hyung?”

Chanyeol frowns, looking more and more uncertain. “I—”

“Look, I’m just trying to look out for you, okay?” Baekhyun sighs, taking over and cleaning the rest of Chanyeol’s face with the abandoned cotton round. “You’re a total softie and you always fall way too hard way too fast. I just don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want you falling for someone who’s taken and spending the next four years of your life pining over someone already in a committed relationship.”

The unexpected dig at one of his previous attempts at romance hits Chanyeol harder than he cares to admit, pushing away Baekhyun’s hands on his face as tears well in his eyes, unbidden.

“Hey,” Baekhyun murmurs, softening his tone as he cups Chanyeol’s face in his hands. Chanyeol tries to pull away, the scowl on his face surely ruined by the lone tear that escapes down his cheek, but his attempt is unsuccessful. “I didn’t say that to be mean. I said that to be honest. You deserve someone who loves you, and only you. Not someone who wants you only when it’s convenient, or only loves you half the time.”

“I know that,” Chanyeol grumbles, letting Baekhyun wipe away the rest of the stubborn tears from the corner of his eyes.

“I know you know,” Baekhyun says, pulling in Chanyeol for a quick hug. “But sometimes you need a reminder.”

Chanyeol lets Baekhyun hold him for a little longer, not really planning to let go until they’re interrupted by knocking on the door.

“Knock, knock, coming in,” Junmyeon says as he pushes the door open. “Everyone decent?”

“Yeah, come in.” Baekhyun calls out in answer, throwing one last knowing look at Chanyeol.

“Is everything alright?” Junmyeon asks, noticing right away the heavy atmosphere. Chanyeol feels the older man’s eyes on him as he makes a grab for his cap and pulls his hoodie over his head.

“Yeah, Chanyeol’s just pretty tired,” Baekhyun answers for him. “I think I’m just going to take him home and make sure he eats, and then gets a good night rest.”

“Oh no, Chanyeol-ah, are you not feeling well?” Chanyeol startles at the sudden feeling of a cool palm against his cheek, and then his forehead. “Hmm...you do feel a little warm. I came to tell you that I’m taking everyone, the whole staff, out for dinner. I was really hoping you’d be able to come, but maybe that’s not a good idea right now if you’re not feeling well.”

“S-sorry,” Chanyeol whispers, unable to look Junmyeon in the eye. He feels guilty about lying, but Baekhyun’s words also ring too true in his head.

“You’ll take him home?” He asks Baekhyun, his tone clearly worried. “Do you guys need a ride?”

“No, it’s okay, I brought my car. I’ll drop him home, maybe even stay over tonight to make sure he eats and sleeps okay.”

“And maybe some medicine too?”

“Yeah, hyung, I’ve got this. I know how to take care of Chanyeol when he’s sick.”

Before Baekhyun can tug him out the door Chanyeol hurries to say his own goodbyes. “Thank you so much for today, hyung,” Chanyeol says quietly with a deep bow so he doesn’t have to meet Junmyeon’s worried, probing gaze. “I learned a lot and it was great meeting you. Goodbye.”

Baekhyun makes good on his promise to buy him dinner, though they have to settle for takeout instead of grilled meat. Baekhyun plies him with soju and whiskey too, when he starts moping about not being able to go to the staff dinner. They spend the rest of the night singing along to Chanyeol’s Shower Sing-Along Playlist, laughing hysterically as they try to sing to the chorus of Rising Sun and drunkenly dance to Rainism.

When Baekhyun nudges him awake the next morning, setting down a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water on the coffee table in the living room where they’d fallen asleep, Chanyeol’s still too drunk for the hangover to have set in. He waves Baekhyun a groggy goodbye as he walks out the front door and promptly goes back to sleep.

When he wakes up again it's well past noon and by that time his hangover has well and truly set in. He downs a couple of painkillers and chugs a whole pitcher of water to give himself a fighting chance for the rest of the day. Thankfully it’s the weekend and he’s free to go back to vegetating on his couch if he so chooses.

And Chanyeol does choose, though he migrates to his bedroom where he can sprawl on his bed comfortably instead of all cramped on the couch. He finds his cell phone charging on his bedside table and the first thing he does is send Baekhyun a string of hearts and a cute thank you sticker on Kakaotalk. He spends the next hour browsing the internet, watching video compilations of teacup poodles and looking at grumpy cat memes. He flags a few emails for work tomorrow, blueprints and designs he’d much rather deal with when he isn’t hungover.

He spends most of the afternoon lounging around and nursing his headache, dozing in and out of sleep, and eating the rest of the previous night’s leftovers. It’s when he’s halfway through the last container of food when he gets a text.

[unknown]>>>
Hello Chanyeol
This is Kim Junmyeon. We met yesterday at the photo shoot.

Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the unexpected message, choking on a noodle as he reads it.

[PCY]<<<
Junmyeon hyung hello!
Of course I remember you!

[Junmyeon]>>>
I hope you don’t mind that I asked Minseok for your contact information. I wanted to see how you were doing after yesterday.
How are you feeling?

Chanyeol hates having to lie, but being truthful isn’t an option in this situation. He leaves Junmyeon on read for long minutes before he finally decides for some semblance of truth.

[PCY]<<<
I’m doing okay.
A little headache but better than yesterday.

Junmyeon answers immediately, adding to Chanyeol’s growing sense of guilt.

[Junmyeon]>>>
That’s good to hear.
I’m glad you’re feeling better.

Chanyeol watches the little text bubble appear, waiting for him to say more, but the text bubble appears and disappears for longer than Chanyeol cares to watch before another message finally comes in.

[Junmyeon]>>>
It was really great working with you yesterday.
I was wondering if you’d be interested in doing some work for a personal project of mine.

[PCY]<<<
What kind of project?

[Junmyeon]>>>
I’m putting together a photo book based on people and places that inspire me.
It’s sort of an ongoing project I’ve been working on for a while.

Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the message, a little speechless and a little too hung over to be dealing with this kind of unexpected situation.

[PCY]<<<
Oh wow that sounds like a big deal.
And you want ME to be a part of your project?

What he really wants to ask is me? Why me? How?

[Junmyeon]>>>
I do.
But only if you’re interested.
If you want, maybe we can meet up and I can give you more details before you decide?

He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t. Not if he wants his little crush to stay little. Not if he wants to prove Baekhyun wrong.

But—

But Chanyeol finds the offer too tempting, the thought of seeing Junmyeon—and maybe even Sehun—again proves too much to resist. He’s quickly typing out a reply before he can think too hard about it.

[PCY]<<<
Okay. When would be a good time?

Junmyeon is just as quick to reply and Chanyeol’s heart pounds as they set a date and time for next weekend, an afternoon at a popular cafe he’s heard about in the city. Their conversation wraps up with a can’t wait to see you! from Junmyeon that Chanyeol has to physically restrain himself from replying in kind.

Can’t wait to see you too, he thinks, even as he sends only a thumbs up in answer.

Chanyeol spends the rest of the week in a bit of a daze, filled with both anxiety and anticipation at the thought of seeing Junmyeon at the end of the week.

He makes sure to keep busy, finishing up his own projects with forced deliberation. It takes more work than usual to focus on the designs of his most current job, a newly renovated work space for some tech start up. He finds himself staring blankly at a screen or blue prints too often, mind wandering—distracted. Tasks that are usually so easy for him to complete take twice as long, and the frustration of having to do things over and over again makes him irritable and has people hesitating before they come up to his desk.

“Why do you look like your computer screen owes you money?” Seulgi says sometime in the middle of the week. She leans her hip against his desk with one perfectly arched eyebrow, waiting for an answer while she sips daintily from an I’m the boss mug.

Chanyeol scrubs a hand over his face, running fingers through his hair and leaving it as messy as it feels. “Nothing. Just tired.”

“Yeah, well, take a nap or something. You’re scaring the interns.”

He frowns at her. “That’s not your mug. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“What’s Irene’s is mine,” She shrugs before eyeing him more critically. “For real though, wrap things up for today and go home early. You look like you could use a nap and then some.”

“Yeah—okay. Maybe I will,” he says, beyond tempted and already closing out tabs and saving his work as she turns to walk away.

At home, he cooks himself a simple meal—stir fried chicken and some instant rice—eating quickly by the counter over the sink. There’s been a melody stuck in his head for days now, a soft, sweet sound reminiscent of Junmyeon’s smooth tenor, the way it made his ears tingle. There’s another tune as well, something a little darker, with a little more heat, another song that wants for a deeper, pounding bass.

The two sounds pull him in two different directions and Chanyeol is restless in his seat at the little makeshift home recording studio in one corner of his apartment. He doesn’t know if he wants to play things out on the piano or launch his digital audio workstation to bring into reality the beat in his head. He works a little on both, the tension he’s felt all day easing somewhat as he funnels his frustration into the act of making music.

When he calls it quits just past midnight, he goes to bed satisfied with his work, relaxed enough to sleep without any difficulty. In the morning when he walks back into work, it’s with a visibly more carefree demeanor and people are quick to take notice.

“Good to see you’ve woken up on the better side of the bed this morning,” Seulgi comments when they end up in the break room at the same time to grab coffee.

Chanyeol just tilts his head at her. “That’s still not your mug.”

The mug in question is oversized with the words Don’t Mess with the Princess written in bold, loopy script all over it. Seulgi just shrugs again with a grin on her face.

“No. No it isn’t.”

Then she has him go out to buy donuts and coffee for the office, handing him the company’s black credit card and telling him the manual labor is his penance for being scary and unapproachable yesterday. Chanyeol makes sure to pout and resist a little before agreeing.

The rest of the week passes by without further incident and before he knows it, Chanyeol is dressed in his nicest skinny jeans and a more fashionable hoodie, making his way to the agreed upon cafe. It’s not that different from his usual day to day style but he’d wanted to look nice, wanted to make a better impression than when they’d parted last. There’s a nagging voice in his head telling him he wants to look good for Junmyeon hyung specifically, but Chanyeol doesn’t care to listen to that voice.

He’s already got nerves making his hands sweat and his stomach fluttering at just the thought of seeing the older man again and Chanyeol doesn’t want to unpack what that kind of anticipation means in the first place.

The cafe itself is very aesthetically pleasing, with lots of potted plants hanging from the ceiling and pastel colors to balance out all the bright green. Chanyeol spots Junmyeon right away, in a sweater that matches the walls and sipping at an iced coffee.

“Chanyeol, over here,” he waves unnecessarily. There’s only a handful of other customers present—most of them women—all of whom turn to stare when they hear Junmyeon call out.

When he feels his face go warm, Chanyeol will insist it’s out of embarrassment and not the way Junmyeon’s handsome face smiles up at him as he approaches.

“Hello again,” Chanyeol says, sounding more shy than he intends to as he moves to sit in the empty seat across from Junmyeon. “I hope you didn’t wait too long.”

Junmyeon smiles, eyes curving into charming crescents as he shakes his head. “Not at all. I came early because I wanted to take some pictures of the cafe.”

When he leans over to show Chanyeol the pictures he’d taken on his phone, Chanyeol gets a whiff of his cologne—a light fragrant scent that reminds him of warm sand and open air. It distracts him enough that he’s a little startled when Junmyeon straightens back into his seat, placing his phone face down on the table.

“I’m so sorry. You just got here and I’m already boring you with this stuff. Let’s get you a drink okay?” Junmyeon stands and won’t take no for an answer when Chanyeol protests about being able to buy his own drink. “I’m the one who asked for you to come. The least I can do is buy you some coffee.”

Thankfully the cafe isn’t too busy and Junmyeon is sitting back down and sliding Chanyeol’s drink—an iced Americano, mild, with only one pump of espresso—across the table to him in just a few minutes.

Chanyeol takes a shy sip, mumbling a thank you as Junmyeon watches him, a smile on his face.

“Is there something on my face?” Chanyeol asks when the quiet stretches too long for his comfort.

“No. You’re just very pleasing to look at.” Junmyeon leans forward, leaning his chin on one hand as he continues to stare at Chanyeol. “You look like you’re feeling much better than the last time I saw you.”

Chanyeol feels a pang of guilt for his little white lie about last week. He laughs a little nervously. “O-oh, yeah. I’m feeling much better. Nothing some good food and a good night’s sleep couldn’t cure.”

“That’s good,” Junmyeon murmurs, and his gaze is starting to feel a little too heavy, a little too focused. “I was worried that we might have worked you too hard. I didn’t want you to regret volunteering for the shoot.”

Chanyeol hurries to reply, almost choking on his sip of coffee in the process. “No way—the shoot was so much fun! Everyone was so nice! And I learned so much!”

“Then I’m glad,” Junmyeon says with another smile that has Chanyeol blinking so he doesn’t lose his train of thought.

They make more polite small talk for a little while longer. Chanyeol comments on Junmyeon’s outfit, asks jokingly if matching the walls of the cafe was deliberate. He’s surprised Junmyeon answers that yes, in fact, it was!

“It’s a little new hobby of mine,” Junmyeon continues while ducking his head bashfully. “I only started it a few months ago. When I was getting stressed over work and burning out, Sehun convinced me to start an Instagram account and post only things that I like, or made me happy. I didn’t think it was a good idea at first, but the more I did it, the more I started to enjoy it.”

Junmyeon taps at his phone and shows Chanyeol his Instagram page. He has less than a hundred posts but a couple thousand followers. His feed is full of pretty nature shots and cute cafes, obligatory tourist selfies, pictures of food, and Sehun. As Chanyeol murmurs oohs and ahs, he can’t help but notice that almost every other post has either Sehun’s face or Sehun as the photo credit.

“Sehun takes a lot of photos for me,” Junmyeon explains without Chanyeol asking. “He says I should take a break from being the photographer every once in a while.”

“He’s right,” Chanyeol agrees. “You’re very handsome, hyung. You belong in front of a camera too.”

Chanyeol is serious but Junmyeon laughs it off. “That’s nice of you to say.”

“I’m serious!”

“I know you are,” Junmyeon says, reaching out to pat Chanyeol on the arm, a slight flush to his cheeks making him even more handsome. “That’s what I liked about you right away Chanyeol. You had a lot of eagerness and sincerity from the moment I met you. It’s quite refreshing, especially in an industry based on how you look and what image you want to project.” Then his smile turns teasing, eyes bright. “And of course you’re very handsome too.”

For whatever reason, maybe his tone or the look in his eyes, Chanyeol feels himself go bright red at the sudden compliment.

“Though I suppose if we’re talking about sincerity,” Junmyeon continues before Chanyeol can open his mouth to form words. “I...actually have a little confession to make,” he says, his expression sobering though his eyes never lose their brightness or shift from Chanyeol’s face, making sure even Chanyeol’s ears feel like they’re burning. “There is no personal photo book I’m working on—at least nothing serious.”

“Oh?” Chanyeol asks, surprised and slightly taken aback by the older man’s sudden honesty. “Then why...”

“I didn’t want to seem weird by asking for your number after we’d only met once,” Junmyeon rubs at the back of his neck, looking unsure for the first time. “Though I suppose asking Minseok for your number isn’t any less strange.”

Chanyeol doesn’t know what to say to that, so he stays quiet, his heart beating inexplicably faster.

“I guess you could say I just really wanted to see you again.” Junmyeon follows the words with a sigh and a little shrug, looking up at Chanyeol with eyes that speak more than his words. He leans in towards Chanyeol, just a little closer, lowering his voice almost to a whisper when he says, “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable by saying that.”

Chanyeol blinks at him, mind blank and thoughts empty. This isn’t at all what he’d expected when he’d decided to meet with Junmyeon today, never mind that his heart soars at the implication. “H-hyung—“ Chanyeol has to stop, unable to go on.

Junmyeon sighs again, his eyes losing their bright quality and visibly deflating before he forces his shoulders back and smiles at Chanyeol again. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “I see that I have. I’m so sorry to have put in you in an uncomfortable situation Chanyeol. I didn’t—“

“Hyung,” Chanyeol tries again. He can tell Junmyeon is getting ready to leave, his body showing lines of tension that don’t belong or suit his usually calm and reassuring disposition. “Hyung, it’s not that. But aren’t you—aren’t you and Sehun…”

Chanyeol doesn’t know how to finish that sentence so he doesn’t. Junmyeon seems to understand his meaning anyway. He reaches for Chanyeol’s hands, busy twisting paper napkins into a mess.

“Are Sehun and I in a relationship?” Junmyeon asks gently, fingers curling around Chanyeol’s much larger ones. Chanyeol finds the older man’s hands surprisingly rough, smaller than his own, but so warm. “It’s okay, you’re not wrong,” he says when Chanyeol’s eyes go wide at his admission. “We aren’t loud about it, but we don’t deny it either if anyone ever has the guts to ask.”

“If you’re together then why are you...“ here with me? Chanyeol is afraid of the answer, mind resisting and almost physically recoiling at the thought that Junmyeon—at least the one he’d built up in his head—could ever be unfaithful.

“We have an open relationship,” Junmyeon explains, still just as quiet, mindful of their surroundings. Chanyeol’s all but forgotten about the cafe they’re sitting in, so wrapped up in what’s happening right in front of him. “There’s more to it than that of course, but I don’t think here or now is a good time to go into detail. But Sehun knows I’m here and that I’m meeting you today. In fact, he’s the one that practically demanded I ask Minseok for your number. He was pretty upset when he didn’t get to say goodbye to you himself last week.”

“Why was he upset?”

Junmyeon squeezes his hand, giving Chanyeol a small, indulgent smile. He looks less sad, even if still a little apprehensive. “You underestimate your appeal, Chanyeol-ah.” The extra affection added to his name makes Chanyeol’s heart race. “I’m pretty sure Sehun likes you as much as I do.”

Chanyeol feels his eyes go wide in disbelief. “I-I don’t understand.”

Junmyeon pats his hand and something like a buzz zips through Chanyeol at their only point of contact. “That’s okay,” Junmyeon says. “I’m sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden. I know it can be a little overwhelming.”

“Do you—have you—done this sort of thing often?”

“A few times.” Chanyeol finds his answer a little too vague for his liking. “But very rarely has it ever been serious.

“Is it some kind of game?” Chanyeol asks, suddenly wary.

“No, never.” Junmyeon turns somber, clasping Chanyeol’s hand in two of his, alternately stroking and squeezing, the gesture warm and increasingly comforting. “Sehun and I are very serious about the people we’ve opened our relationship to, even if our relationship with that person doesn’t turn out to be serious or long term. We don’t take these things lightly and we always talk about things beforehand. It is definitely not a game for us.”

Junmyeon looks so earnest and sounds so sincere that Chanyeol can’t help but believe him, his own guardedness weakening, his wary heart softening. “O-okay. Okay,” he repeats for a lack of anything else to say. He licks his lips, mouth suddenly dry but for whatever reason he doesn’t want to ruin the moment by letting go of Junmyeon’s hand to sip at his drink.

“Okay,” Junmyeon says too, looking hopeful.

A silence falls over them then, becoming more awkward as the seconds tick by. “I-I think I need some time to think,” Chanyeol says, reluctantly pulling his hand away from Junmyeon’s comforting hold. He can’t look Junmyeon straight in the eye.

“Of course,” Junmyeon says. He doesn’t try to reach for Chanyeol’s hand again.

“Thank you for the coffee,” Chanyeol says as he pushes his seat back and gets ready to leave.

“You’re more than welcome, Chanyeol. I—“ Junmyeon clears his throat and Chanyeol finally musters up the courage to look at him again. He looks hopeful but resigned. “I hope to see you again. You have my number if—if you have any questions or ever wanna talk.”

Chanyeol nods at him, looking away before they can make eye contact. “Y-yeah. I’ll call you, hyung,” he says lamely before making his escape.

When Chanyeol gets home, the first thing he does is boot up his computer. What follows is an endless spiral down a blackhole that starts with search words like threesome, polyamory, and is it okay to like two people at the same time? Before he knows it, he’s spent almost four hours hunched over his desk with a headache and his back hurting, still just as confused as he was before he sat down.

The thing is, Chanyeol’s no stranger to love or relationships. He’s had his fair share of lovers, one night stands, and even a handful of boyfriends he’d seriously considered building a life with. Even if it was just a sex thing, Chanyeol doesn’t think he’s a prude. He has his own hidden folder of porn with questionable tastes and he’s absolutely aware that he has certain kinks he’s interested in but hasn’t had the opportunity to explore. But the way Junmyeon had talked, the look in his eyes when he told Chanyeol he wanted to see him again and that Sehun felt the same way…Chanyeol knows the older man had meant more than just sex or something casual.

That’s what scares Chanyeol the most. The possibility of opening himself up to more than one person, being vulnerable more than just the usual amount. Giving and expecting twice as more. Chanyeol’s never been able to do that freely. He knows he’s a lot to handle—he’s tall and loud, competitive to a fault, emotional and hotheaded, entirely too invested much too quickly. He’s had a lot of people tell him before that he’s too much, too intense. Even his friends need a break from him sometimes. Chanyeol’s always, always held himself back, never able to give a hundred percent because he might scare people off.

But—but maybe if it was two someones then…

Chanyeol shakes his head, runs a hand through his hair and rubs at his tired eyes. He logs out of his computer and with a sigh, he decides to sleep on it instead. He’s too confused and too overwhelmed to make any good decisions right now.

That night Chanyeol sleeps fitfully; his body is tired but his mind keeps running full steam ahead. He spends the rest of the weekend alternating between napping and playing overwatch with Baekhyun, screaming into each other’s headsets all day and late into the night. He’s a little preoccupied during their games and of course Baekhyun notices, asks Chanyeol what’s up repeatedly. Oddly enough Chanyeol is reluctant to share with his best friend what troubles him. He wants to keep this maybe something to himself just a little longer. As much as he values Baekhyun’s opinion, he can be a little overprotective—he’s only older than Chanyeol by six months but always uses it to his advantage, always wants to fix Chanyeol up and solve all his problems. This time, Chanyeol wants to deal with things on his own.

Chanyeol goes through the rest of his week in much the same way, preoccupied even when he should be busy. Work is not enough of a distraction. He’s in between projects and no matter how much work he wants to do, there simply isn’t anything to be done in the office. Seulgi gives him strange looks when he lingers at his computer after it’s time to clock out but thankfully doesn’t say anything. Even on his way home Chanyeol almost misses his stop, so lost in thought that he doesn’t realize it's time to get off until the doors are closing and his bag almost gets caught. He spends way too much time at the gym, lifting endless weights and running countless miles on the treadmill until his body is sore and tired enough to maybe let him fall asleep without difficulty.

It’s those moments right before sleep takes over that Chanyeol is the weakest.

He scrolls through Junmyeon’s Instagram account almost every day, trying his hardest not to accidentally double tap any of the pictures, not wanting to get caught lurking. He looks up Sehun’s account as well, eyes bugging and sleep almost leaving him at the sheer number of followers listed. There are a few million people following IG user oohsehun and Chanyeol can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like. Sehun’s account has more posts, dating all the way to a few years back. His most recent ones have major brands like Louis Vuitton and Cartier tagged, short clips of Sehun wearing designer clothes and expensive watches. The Sehun Chanyeol had met had been so laid-back and down to earth—Chanyeol never would have known he was famous, let alone the kind of famous that garnered shoutouts from luxury brands.

That kind of fame makes Chanyeol wary. All his feelings of self-doubt and insecurity coming to haunt him and disturb his sleep. Sure they like him now, but what if they realized he wasn’t good enough? That he’s just a normal person, living a normal life, nothing exciting about him except his occasional penchant for coloring his hair blond and pastel colors?

The night he discovers Sehun’s instagram account is by far the worst sleep he’s ever had.

By the time the next weekend rolls around, Baekhyun is no longer taking no for an answer. He barges into Chanyeol’s apartment armed with Mario Kart in one hand and takeout in the other. He raids Chanyeol’s cupboards for soju and shot glasses without asking and sits Chanyeol down with a stern look on his face.

“You’d better start talking,” Baekhyun commands, already filling their shot glasses.

And Chanyeol is in no state to say no either. He’s spent nearly a week mulling things over alone and he’s only worked himself up into a frenzy, not sleeping, barely eating, and spending way too much time at the gym. Even if he could keep things to himself, he doesn’t want to anymore. He gives in to Baekhyun’s demand for answers too easily in between shots of soju and bites of takeout. He starts off with Junmyeon’s request to meet for coffee and ends with his recent obsession with spit roasting in porn.

“I-I couldn’t help myself,” he says a little tearfully after throwing back another shot. Baekhyun was a good friend, his bestest friend, for always keeping his glass full. “I keep thinking about them a-and how comfortable they seemed together, and how good they look in all their IG posts. I didn’t mean to look up the porn, but I was so tired, hyung. I-I—”

“There, there,” Baekhyun says, squeezing his shoulders and patting his head. Baekhyun gave the best head pats. “It sounds like it’s been a really rough week for you.”

Chanyeol nods, savors Baekhyun’s brand of familiar comforting. He’s just drunk enough to be tearful but not enough to be incoherent. The soju is good, the food is good, Baekhyun is warm—everything feels a little better somehow. Baekhyun always makes things better.

“All right, that’s enough you sap,” Baekhyun says, flicking Chanyeol’s nose. Chanyeol rears back, feeling suddenly betrayed. Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “You said all of that out loud.”

“But it’s true!” Chanyeol exclaims, tearful once again. “Why can’t we be in love? If we were, then we wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble with dating other people!”

Baekhyun sighs, patting him on the head again, running his pretty fingers through Chanyeol’s hair just the way Chanyeol likes. Chanyeol goes from being tearful to being sappy in seconds, giving himself emotional whiplash. “Been there, done that, right Yeollie? We’re better off as friends than boyfriends.”

“What if we didn’t try hard enough, Baekhyunnie?”

“We did, remember?”

How could Chanyeol forget? It was three months of the worst time in his life, not being able to talk to Baekhyun like he usually would because of feelings, lots of awkward hand holding and kisses that just didn’t feel right. At the end of it, they just missed each other as best friends and deciding to stay as best friends was the best decision they’ve ever made. Now they can hold hands and share the occasional kisses without feeling weird about it. They know where they stand as friends and even if those lines are sometimes a little obscure, it’s something they’ve both accepted.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. You know I—”

“I know,” Baekhyun says, pressing a soft, indulgent kiss to the top of Chanyeol’s head, indulging him further with another one to the tip of his nose when Chanyeol tips his chin for more. Chanyeol whines a little when Baekhyun only kisses him chastely on the mouth and presses his face against his chest.

“I don’t know what to do, Baek,” Chanyeol whispers, his words muffled into Baekhyun’s shirt.

“Well, there’s only one thing left to do that you haven’t done. You’ve spent this whole week looking for answers on your own, maybe it’s time you call them up and see what they have to say.”

“Do you think I should? With them I mean? The two of them?”

Baekhyun shrugs, jostling Chanyeol in his arms. “I don’t know them much beyond a professional capacity so I can’t vouch for them personally, but I think I know enough to say that they’re generally good people. Sehun can be a bit of a brat sometimes but he’s always more than nice to the staff he works with and Junmyeon has a reputation for being nothing but generous. I think you could do worse if they’re both interested in you.”

“You think so?” Chanyeol sniffles.

“Yeah just—you know. Be careful. Talk to them. Don’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If things work out, then great! The more the merrier, right? And if things don’t, then well—” Baekhyun gives Chanyeol a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll always be here to make sure you come out of it okay.”

“Thanks, Baek,” Chanyeol says, feeling better already. He can always count on Baekhyun to put things into perspective and point him in the right direction.

Baekhyun sleeps over that night and Chanyeol sleeps soundly for the first time in days, happy as the little spoon. In the morning, Baekhyun coaches him through what to say to Junmyeon when he calls, ultimately convincing Chanyeol not to send a text message instead.

“You have to face these things head on,” Baekhyun chides, Chanyeol’s pouting completely ineffective. “If you just text him, then you’ll have to wait for a response, and then you’ll agonize about how long it takes him to reply or if what he says could mean something else. Just get him on the phone and be direct. Let him know you’re interested—in both of them—but you want to talk about it first. Then just go from there.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Chanyeol groans, phone gripped in one sweaty palm.

“It is that easy, don’t make it hard.”

Chanyeol heaves a big sigh, staring hard at Junmyeon’s number, his thumb hovering over the call button. “Alright. Here goes.”

His heart feels like it’s trying to pound its way out of his rib cage during the ten seconds it takes for the call to connect. Junmyeon picks up in the middle of the third ring.

“Chanyeol?”

“Hyung—hi.” Chanyeol’s eyes widen at Baekhyun, panicking. Baekhyun makes hurried go on motions with his hands. “Uh, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Junmyeon answers, painfully polite. And then, a little less formally he says, “I didn’t think I’d hear from you again.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’ve, uh, been doing a lot of thinking.” Baekhyun nods at him encouragingly, giving him a thumbs up.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess, I think—” Baekhyun shakes his head abruptly, making an ‘X’ with his arms. “I mean—I am interested. In you. In both of you—you and Sehun. But I wanna talk about it a little more. Like, how things would work. And stuff.”

“Oh, Chanyeol, of course,” Junmyeon says, “I—I actually have Sehun here listening in. Is that okay?”

“Um, yes, that’s fine,” Chanyeol replies, chewing on his lip anxiously. He hasn’t talked to Sehun since the photoshoot. “Hi, Sehun.”

There’s a pause and the sound of shuffling before Sehun’s low voice greets him back. “Hi, hyung.”

It’s Sehun, Chanyeol mouths at Baekhyun who just keeps gesturing for him to go on. “How have you been?” Chanyeol asks lamely.

“Better, now that you’ve called.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sehun interrupts. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

He’s right, Baekhyun mouths at Chanyeol silently. Chanyeol holds his hand up in Baekhyun’s face to tell him to shut up. “Okay. Is Junmyeon hyung still there?”

“Yeah, you’re on speaker.”

“Oh, well, okay. Um, like I was saying earlier. I am interested in you both but would like to talk first, about how things would work,” Chanyeol recites dutifully, exactly like he and Baekhyun practiced. From the corner of his eye, Chanyeol can see Baekhyun seal clapping at him silently.

“Yes, of course, we can do that.” It’s Junmyeon who answers. “Do you want to talk over dinner tonight? Or maybe tomorrow? We’re free all day tomorrow.”

“Um—” Chanyeol looks frantically at Baekhyun who just shrugs at him. Up to you, his lips read. Chanyeol has to physically restrain himself from groaning out loud. “Tomorrow, maybe? I can’t do tonight.”

“Tomorrow sounds great. There’s a really good place we know. I can text you the details.”

“Okay, tomorrow then. I—I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Junmyeon and Sehun both say their goodbyes and then Chanyeol flings his phone onto the other side of the couch and curls into a ball right there on the living room floor.

“Oh, God. That was horrible!” He wails into the seat of the couch.

“Stop it, that went fine! It wasn’t bad at all.” Baekhyun tugs at him for long minutes before Chanyeol uncurls, pushing his head into Baekhyun’s lap. “You did great, Yeol. I’m proud of you.”

His phone chirps, from the other end of the couch, signalling that he’s just received a message. Chanyeol forgets all about his whining, scrambling to pick up his phone. He gets another message just as he’s unlocking the device with his face.

[Junmyeon]>>>
Let’s meet here around noon! The food is great and it’s never too busy.

The second message is just a link to a restaurant Chanyeol isn’t familiar with, but has heard about.

[PCY]<<<
Okay
Sounds good

[Junmyeon]>>>
See you soon!

For whatever reason, finally deciding to meet them both lessens Chanyeol’s stress and anxiety by a significant amount. It’s like a weight has been taken off his shoulders, all his days and nights fretting over what ifs and maybes coming to an end because he doesn’t have to wonder anymore. Junmyeon and Sehun will lay it out for him and it’ll be up to him to decide if a relationship with them both is something worth pursuing.

Chanyeol had actually read a few internet articles about open relationships and polyamory—both new concepts to him—and while not all of them were helpful, those that were stressed that open, honest communication was key, along with setting expectations. Was this just a sex thing? Will he be dating them together or separately? Are they boyfriends? Lovers? Fuck buddies? Are they looking for long term or something just for fun?

Chanyeol had thought about his own expectations after their phone call. Baekhyun had to leave, but not before giving Chanyeol a stern talking to.

“Don’t settle,” he’d said, wagging a finger in Chanyeol’s face. “You know you fall in love too quickly. You want commitment. You’re not made to be a booty call or some side piece. Got it?”

Chanyeol had nodded dutifully. “Got it.”

Baekhyun’s eyes soften. “You deserve to be happy.”

Those words had made Chanyeol’s heart ache, but Baekhyun was right. He couldn’t settle. He deserved to be happy. He had to make sure he had his own expectations going in, so that he isn’t just following them blindly and letting them set their own rules.

With that mindset, Chanyeol sleeps soundly that night, even without Baekhyun there to hold him. In the morning he feels refreshed, excited even to see them. Now that he's more sure about what he wants, Chanyeol's worries take a back seat and for once he lets himself think about the possibilities. The thought of two boyfriends at once is a little scandalous but it also sends a thrill down his spine. Twice the hugs and kisses, twice the cuddles, twice the love, twice the—

Chanyeol has to slap himself not to let his thoughts wander, images of multiple hands and mouths on his body flashing behind his eyelids and making his belly warm. That’s not even on the table, he thinks. Not yet. I don’t know yet.

Chanyeol blinks away the images and spends the rest of his morning working on music, new found inspiration making the hours tick by faster.

All too soon it’s time to get ready. Chanyeol has to make a conscious effort to ignore his arousal in the shower, washing his hair and cleaning his body quickly and efficiently. When he’s done, he forgoes the hoodie and jeans combo that’s his go to and opts for a buttoned down shirt and nicer jeans, the kind without rips on them. He even puts effort into his hair, styling it up and out of the way. His darker roots are starting to show and he’ll probably need to get a touch up soon or dye it back to a more natural color, but for today it’s not terrible. With a new kind of anticipation, Chanyeol makes his way to the restaurant.

It’s a noodle place, a little hole in the wall, the kind that was open 24hrs and sold great food whether it was for the late night bar crowd or a family Sunday lunch. He gets there a few minutes before noon, but it only takes a quick look around for him to know that Junmyeon and Sehun have gotten there even earlier.

He’s overcome with nerves as soon as he spots them in a corner booth, a secluded spot even if the restaurant had been busy. As it is, there are only a few other occupied tables and they’re spaced far apart. They’ll have plenty of privacy to talk and hopefully come to an agreement on how they want to move forward.

Sehun spots him right away from his position facing the door. He raises a hand to grab Chanyeol’s attention and Junmyeon’s eyes follow. They’re both smiling when Chanyeol gets to the table.

“Hi,” Chanyeol says shyly when he goes to sit down. The booth is round and Sehun sits across from him while Junmyeon is to his left. Someone comes to take their order and Chanyeol leaves it up to them to decide since they’re more familiar with the menu. Chanyeol isn’t too interested in the food at this point anyway.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon says when they’re alone again, that signature smile on his face that never fails to make Chanyeol feel all warm inside. “How have you been?”

“Fine, mostly, but also very confused,” Chanyeol answers truthfully. He looks from Junmyeon to Sehun but finds no judgement in their eyes.

“That’s understandable. Our relationship—” Junmyeon reaches for one of Sehun’s hands resting on the table. “—isn’t exactly conventional, but it works for us. We care very deeply about each other and that’s something we’d like to share with you, if you’re interested.” They share a look, one Chanyeol can’t help but be envious of.

“What would that kind of relationship entail?” he asks hesitantly, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he waits for their answer.

“Whatever you want,” Sehun says.

“Whatever you’re willing to participate in,” Junmyeon corrects. Sehun rolls his eyes at the older man fondly.

“Yeah, what he said,” Sehun says with a small grin that quickly turns serious. “But it’s not often Junmyeon hyung and I are attracted to the same person. One of us usually takes more convincing. That wasn’t the case this time around. We both really like you.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol says, for lack of anything better to say, maybe a little speechless after Sehun’s sudden honesty. “Okay, but—what does that mean? Are you...looking for another boyfriend? Are we dating? Are we exclusive? Or is this just a sex thing...?” Chanyeol loses steam at the last minute, running out of words. He’d finally asked the question he’d wanted an answer to most. Not the delivery he’d been going for, but it's out there now and he can’t take it back.

They’re saved from answering right away by a server who comes by with a tray of their food. Hot bowls filled to the brim with soup and noodles get laid in front of them, as well as various other entrees that—at any other time—Chanyeol would usually be the first to sample, but now his stomach just feels full of knots.

“Thank you,” Junmyeon murmurs politely when all the food has been laid out. The server thankfully doesn’t linger. “We want something serious,” Junmyeon says with the same kind of bluntness Sehun had spoken with as soon as they’re alone. No one makes a move to touch the food. “We aren’t big on labels, but yes—boyfriends if you want to give it one.”

“And it’s not just a sex thing,” Sehun continues with an undercurrent of vehemence Chanyeol isn’t expecting. As if he’d had to say the same thing countless times before. “We don’t plan on seeing or dating anyone else if you agree, and while we hope it would be the same for you, we won’t hold you to the same level of commitment if you do decide to see other people.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Chanyeol says, a little wary.

“It’s been an issue before,” Sehun shrugs, frowning.

Chanyeol shakes his head. “I don’t want to date other people.”

“Does that mean you want to date us, then?” Junmyeon asks, unable to hide the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“I think so,” Chanyeol says after hesitating for just a second.

“You have to be sure,” Sehun insists, continuing to frown, almost afraid to look hopeful.

Chanyeol hesitates again, mind running a mile a minute and heart pounding just as fast. His mouth almost feels too dry “We’ll take it slow? Like date first, right? See if we get along well?”

“Of course,” Junmyeon answers readily. “We don’t want this to be difficult. It’s the same as regular dating, but instead of just two people, it's with three.”

“But it's hard already with just two people.” Chanyeol doesn’t mean to argue but it's one of the other thoughts that had plagued him at night. If relationships were hard enough with just two people, then what kind of heartache waited in store for three?

“Trust me, hyung, we know,” Sehun says with a snort, finally reaching for the stack of utensils on one plate and dutifully handing them out. “Nothing worth it is easy,” he says decisively, offering them a scoop of one of the entrees before spooning out a portion for himself.

“It’s true,” Junmyeon reaches for Chanyeol’s shoulder and gives it a reassuring squeeze. It's a fleeting touch and Chanyeol misses its warmth immediately. “It wasn’t easy deciding on an open relationship, and you’re right—it can be hard trying to juggle the wants and needs of more than one person. But it can also be very rewarding. It’s why we keep doing it.”

Chanyeol lets that thought stew in his head for a bit while everyone digs into the food. It really is quite good, and for a moment Chanyeol is distracted by the chewy texture of the noodles and the richness of the broth. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was with all the talking they’d been doing.

“Does that mean this is a date, then?” He asks after a while, furtively glancing from one man to the other.

“I’m going to go home if this isn’t,” Sehun says, punctuating his words with a particularly loud slurp.

That makes Chanyeol burst into laughter and that’s all it takes for the tension to drain from his shoulders. Chanyeol laughs freely, forgetting himself and swiping at Junmyeon in his glee. The motion knocks a bite of meat out from between the older man’s chopsticks just as he’s about to put it in his mouth, plopping right back into his bowl. It splatters a bit over his sweater vest but then Junmyeon is laughing too, and so is Sehun. The sound of Sehun’s high-pitched wheezing laugh just sets Chanyeol off again, and soon he’s pounding on the table, clutching Junmyeon’s arm while Sehun is curled up sideways in the booth.

By the time they pull themselves together the waitstaff and other patrons are giving them strange looks, some amused and others more reproachful. Chanyeol finds that he couldn’t care less.

As far as first dates go, Chanyeol has never had one that filled him with so much anxiety and made him feel like a million butterflies lived in his stomach at the same time.

With all the ambiguity about their relationship resolved, the tension between all three of them dissolves like spun sugar, sticky sweet and instantly addictive. Chanyeol is able to laugh and flirt as easily and guilt-free as he’d like. Junmyeon’s touches are warm and not so fleeting anymore, plentiful even, with fingers brushing against the back of his hand or curling lightly around his wrist as they talk. Sehun’s eyes from across the table are equally just as warm, maybe even warmer because he can’t reach for Chanyeol as often. Chanyeol finds his face in a constant state of flushed from all their attention. The change is gradual but deliberate; it becomes increasingly obvious that he’s being seduced and they’re so smooth about it Chanyeol almost can’t complain.

“I’m the one who invited you out, of course I’ll be the one paying,” Junmyeon insists when the meal is over and won’t take no for an answer.

“But that was before—”

“Hyung,” Sehun says, cutting Chanyeol off by casually hooking an arm around his shoulders and directing him away from where they’d been about to argue in front of the cash register. He sends Junmyeon a wink over his shoulder. “That’s not an argument you’ll win.”

“But—”

“Shh, trust me,” Sehun interrupts Chanyeol again, this time squeezing him closer, the length of their bodies pressed together so casually and so suddenly that Chanyeol almost squeaks. “Junmyeon hyung likes to pay. It makes him feel good to take care of the people he cares about. I don’t even bother bringing my wallet around when we go out.”

“I can pay for my own—”

“It’s not about can or can’t,” Sehun explains, herding him smoothly towards the exit. “It’s not about money either. He knows we’re more than able to pay for things ourselves, but he thinks it’s a privilege that we let him take care of things.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chanyeol mumbles, finally finding his words.

Sehun shrugs, grinning. “It’s give and take, hyung. We can make it up to him in other ways.”

“Like what?”

“Stick around and you’ll see,” Sehun winks at him mischievously.

They walk along the nearby Han river, enjoying the late afternoon breeze. The summer is just beginning and the air is just warm enough for a stroll by the water. The conversation between the three of them hasn’t stopped either, and for once Chanyeol doesn’t feel like he’s the only one trying to keep it going. He hates awkward silences and does his best to avoid them. Both Junmyeon and Sehun don’t seem inclined to let them happen either.

“So if interior design is your day job, how’d you end up doing work for Minseok?” Junmyeon asks curiously. He’d taken off his sweater vest after getting food on it and the long sleeved shirt he’s left in looks a little thin. Chanyeol would offer his own jacket if he’d thought to bring one, but since he usually runs hot, it’s not something he’d normally grab on the way out.

“Baekhyun, mostly,” Chanyeol says. It’s only then that he realizes he’s sandwiched between them, walking close enough that their hands brush his with every step. He gets a little flustered when Sehun’s pinky catches around his and hangs on for a split second too long to call it an accident. “But- uhm, only because I generally have a lot of hobbies and he knows I’m free.”

“I can’t believe we have to actually thank Baekhyun hyung for introducing us,” Sehun makes a face, still making conversation as if he isn’t actively giving Chanyeol heart palpitations. “We’ll never live it down. He’s going to be smug forever.”

“For once, I can’t complain,” Junmyeon grins, bumping his shoulder into Chanyeol’s deliberately. He looks up at Chanyeol with eyes that sparkle, curved into crescents as he smiles. The sight of him makes Chanyeol’s heart thump harder in his chest.

“I guess neither can I.” Sehun concedes with a thoughtful hum, eyeing them curiously. They’ve stopped walking, coming onto a long stretch of path without anyone else around. Sehun reaches for Chanyeol’s elbow and slides his palm down his forearm until he can thread their fingers together. “Is this okay?” He asks, watching Chanyeol as he wiggles their joined hands.

Chanyeol’s never met someone so forward—at least not someone he planned to date and not just a one night stand. “Y-yeah.” He says, a little breathless. His heart is racing and he feels his face getting warm again.

“You have to tell us if we’re coming on too strong, okay?” Junmyeon says, sidling up to him on the opposite side, eyes still sparkling, but the effect now is even greater because he’s pressed against Chanyeol, with an arm twined around his own. He comes up to just about Chanyeol’s shoulder. The perfect height to lay his head, Chanyeol thinks distractedly. “This is only the first date and we don’t want to scare you away.”

Chanyeol doesn’t think he could be scared away, not when this is always what he’s wanted—affection and warmth in over abundance, offered freely, and given without hesitation. In the past he’s always been the one that came on too strong, too excited, overwhelming his partners with his feelings. He’s had people tell him he’s too much, too needy, too clingy. This time, to be told the opposite is strangely liberating.

“Yeah,” he says, the ghost of countless insecurities makes the word stick in his throat, but Junmyeon’s bright gaze and Sehun’s hand in his fill him with something like excitement or giddy warmth, makes his insides flutter, until the cold knot of doubt still sitting like a stone in his gut eases, just a bit.

“I want bubble tea,” Sehun says, squeezing Chanyeol’s fingers and pulling them along. Chanyeol can’t help himself. He smiles and squeezes back.

From the bubble tea shop, the rest of the afternoon flies by.

They wander over to a park still within view of the river and sit under a tree at the far edge. It’s mostly deserted with only the odd runner every now and then, and they count themselves lucky to be able to sit together in relative privacy. Chanyeol finds himself sandwiched between them once again, pressed shoulder to shoulder and surrounded in the most pleasant way imaginable.

The sun is setting and it’s the golden hour, lighting up their surroundings in a picture perfect ethereal glow. Chanyeol is loath to say goodbye but he has to put the final touches to a side project he promised to turn in by tomorrow. He didn’t think he’d be spending the day being wooed, hadn’t dared to dream things would work out so nicely. But here he is, working up the courage to say the words that’ll cut their date short, a little distressed at the thought of having to turn down the invitation to dinner he knows is coming.

Before he can spiral, Sehun asks him, “So, hyung. Do you ever kiss on the first date?”

Chanyeol can’t hide his surprise, tongue tied at the question. “Oh, uhm- ”

“Sehun,” There’s a warning note on Junmyeon’s tone, laced with exasperation. To Chanyeol he says, “You don’t have to answer that, Chanyeol.”

“Here?” The word is both an answer and a question as Chanyeol’s eyes look around them. He can’t imagine saying no, even if being in public makes him a little nervous.

Sehun shrugs, running the pad of his thumb over the top of Chanyeol’s hand. They haven’t stopped holding hands since the river, latching on to each other naturally even after they’d bought their drinks. The gaze he levels at Chanyeol doesn’t waver, the stroke of his thumb maddening. “Only if you want to.”

Oh, does Chanyeol want to. He glances at Junmyeon out of nervous habit. Holding hands while strolling was different from kissing. It would be so easy to lean in and kiss Sehun, but would it really be okay?

Junmyeon must be some kind of mind reader because he reaches out to brush Chanyeol’s hair out of his eyes. “Don’t let Sehunnie get too carried away,” he says with a conspiratorial wink. “Bite back a little if you have to. He likes that.”

Sehun makes a harrumphing sound but turns Chanyeol’s face towards him with gentle fingers at his jaw. Chanyeol lets himself be pressed up against the tree, the bark rough against his back but Sehun’s lips are soft. Chanyeol’s a few centimeters taller than Sehun when standing, but sitting down like this they’re of a height. Sehun only has to tilt his chin the slightest bit upward to press their lips together. Sehun tastes like chocolate bubble tea and mints, warm and sweet, his mouth slanting gently across Chanyeol’s. His lips are pillowy soft, only slightly chapped. Chanyeol can’t help the way he leans back as Sehun tilts his head with a hand moving to cradle the back of his head and lead their kiss. He’s left blinking, dazed, when Sehun finally pulls back to examine the devastation he’d left in his wake.

“So pretty, hyung,” he murmurs, eyes downcast and staring at Chanyeol’s mouth. He leans back in again before Chanyeol can catch his breath. This time, Sehun flicks his tongue along the seam of Chanyeol’s lips, asking for entry that Chanyeol is only all too willing to provide.

Chanyeol lets out an embarrassing noise, he’s sure of it, when Sehun slips his tongue into his mouth. It’s a smooth slide, the way he curls his tongue around Chanyeol’s, licks behind his teeth, and nips at Chanyeol’s bottom lip. It’s the kind of kiss that makes heat simmer low in his gut and electricity spark at the base of his spine. Chanyeol’s hands scramble for something to hold onto, fisting into Sehun’s shirt and grasping at the other hand running up and down his thigh. He doesn’t know if the touch is supposed to be soothing or meant to provoke him further, but it’s distracting all the same. He gasps in surprise and pulls away sharply when Sehun bites down unexpectedly.

Junmyeon tsks from somewhere next to him, so close Chanyeol would swear he feels the older man’s mouth move against his ear. But Chanyeol’s still reeling, heart pounding in his ears at being kissed within an inch of his life; it’s hard to focus on anything else when his mouth feels tender, the metallic hint of blood at the tip of his tongue as Sehun grins at him, eyes dark and full of intent. “Sorry,” he says, not looking sorry at all.

“Sehun-ah,” Junmyeon admonishes, fingers at Chanyeol’s chin to turn his Junmyeon’s way. Chanyeol follows the motion of his fingers dazedly, unable to do more than blink up at the older man. “That wasn’t very nice,” he says, his thumb brushing Chanyeol’s tender bottom lip.

“You’ll kiss it better, right hyung?” The hand that had been cradling his head moves down Chanyeol’s nape, resting lightly against his throat. The pulse at his neck throbs, Chanyeol can feel it jump against the light pressure of Sehun’s palm.

“Would you like that, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon asks in a low voice that makes Chanyeol shiver. The grip he has on Chanyeol’s chin is gentle but firm. Junmyeon’s kneeling, probably getting dirt all over his nice jeans just to tower over Chanyeol and ask him questions that are becoming increasingly hard to answer. “Would you like me to kiss it better?”

“Y-yes?”

“Was that a question?”

Chanyeol shakes his head and has to swallow several times, breathing shallowly, still not quite recovered from Sehun kissing him. “Yes,” he says, trying to sound firm, but it sounds like pleading, even to his own ears. Junmyeon’s mouth quirks into something like a sly smile but he thankfully doesn’t tease. Instead he leans down and kisses Chanyeol with the same intensity Sehun had.

He laps at Chanyeol’s bottom lip, licking at the tenderness Sehun’s teeth had left behind before sucking Chanyeol’s tongue into his mouth. There’s no denying it this time—he whimpers when Junmyeon’s fingers find their way into his hair and tugs, angling his head and kissing Chanyeol harder. Junmyeon tastes like the Americano he’d ordered for himself instead of bubble tea. His mouth is gentle but unyielding, coaxing Chanyeol into kissing back with firm strokes of his tongue and his hands keeping Chanyeol close. Chanyeol finds himself craning his neck just to keep up, gasping for breath only when Junmyeon lets him.

Junmyeon leans away looking equally breathless. Chanyeol’s panting, clutching the front of Junmyeon’s shirt, leaving it irreparably wrinkled. Chanyeol’s legs feel weak, as if he’d be crumpled on the floor if he wasn’t already sitting, Sehun at his back and holding him steady with an arm that had found its way around Chanyeol’s middle.

“I guess we don’t have to worry about chemistry,” Sehun mutters against Chanyeol’s shoulder. Sehun squeezes him, the weight of his arms grounding Chanyeol and bringing feeling back to his legs. He presses a kiss to the nape of Chanyeol’s neck and Chanyeol inhales sharply at the fleeting touch, eyes fluttering closed briefly.

“Was that okay, Chanyeol?” Junmyeon asks, still with that low timber edging his tone. The words are measured, neutral, meant to soothe. Except Junmyeon’s eyes are hot and Sehun’s arms around him are tight and Chanyeol’s half hard in his jeans. Except Chanyeol doesn’t feel suffocated, he feels like he’s free falling. Except Chanyeol doesn’t care that this is definitely way too fast, like he’s a hurtling missile, cutting through the air with only one destination in mind, the explosion at the end be damned.

He can’t find the words to answer, just buries his head into Junmyeon’s chest and holding on for dear life. Any lingering doubt he had about agreeing to a relationship with three people is forgotten with the butterfly soft feeling of twin kisses, one to his hair and another to the back of his neck.

Chanyeol is not, in fact, invited to dinner.

“If we invite you to dinner, you’re not going home.” Sehun’s face is completely serious when he says this, a stubborn look on his face belying how he really feels about having to part ways. The conviction in his voice makes Chanyeol’s face heat up and the butterflies in his stomach to go wild.

“I—” I don’t want to go, Chanyeol doesn’t say out loud. He doesn’t continue, not wanting to sound too eager even if he knows he’s not fooling anyone. Chanyeol may kiss on the first date but he knows it’s important they do no more than that—at least for now.

“It doesn’t matter how busy we are. We’ll make time, okay, hyung?” Sehun presses, throwing an arm around Chanyeol’s shoulders and clinging hard.

“Text us as much as you like.” Junmyeon takes both his hands and squeezes, earnestly, as if sensing the way Chanyeol is holding back. “We’ll make a group chat and share our schedules.”

They make tentative plans to see each other again during the week, but both Junmyeon and Sehun have busy schedules and between his day job and his side projects, Chanyeol doesn’t have a ton of free time either.

They part ways at the entrance to the subway station for the line Chanyeol needs to take to get home. Junmyeon and Sehun had driven over and offer to drop him home but it’s already hard enough like this; he doesn’t think he’d let them go home either if they insisted on walking him to the door. Baekhyun would either be proud or offended that it’s his voice in Chanyeol’s head as the voice of reason, telling him to think with the right head.

So Chanyeol goes home alone.

He’s high on the feeling Junmyeon and Sehun had left him with, the memory of their kisses seared into his mind and the feel of their hands on him branded into his skin. The feeling bleeds into his work, the highlight melody for the commercial jingle he’s working on takes on a more sensual note, not entirely appropriate for home appliances. He has to backtrack and start over at least three times before he gets the jingle right and even then he’s not quite satisfied. Still, when he goes to bed past midnight it’s with a smile on his face and a warmth in his chest that doesn’t dissipate even come morning.

When he wakes up just past nine in the morning there are new text messages waiting to be read, at least a dozen coming from Sehun and Junmyeon both.

The first few are good morning messages, asking Chanyeol if he got home safe and if he slept well. The next few are about how much they enjoyed their date yesterday and how much they look forward to seeing him again. Then there’s a link, access to an online calendar with both their schedules plugged in.

[Junmyeon hyung]>>>
Feel free to add your own schedule if you’d like.

[Sehunnie]>>>
Junmyeon hyung has another shoot with Minseok hyung later this week
I usually tag along.
Wanna come too?

Chanyeol scans the calendar for the date and time in question and has to bite his lip in disappointment.

[PCY]<<<
Good morning! Yesterday was great!!
I can’t that day tho. I have a deadline :(((

He contemplates adding an I miss you both, but decides that’s maybe too early. They saw each other less than twenty-four hours ago.

[PCY]>>>
Dinner maybe?
I don’t mind if it’s late.
I’m free any time after 6pm this week.

Chanyeol waits for a reply while making his way out of bed, brushing his teeth, and taking a shower to wash away the sleep still clinging to his consciousness. When he steps out of the bathroom, more messages are waiting for him.

[Sehunnie]<<<
Dinner sounds good.
When?

Their second date is at a more upscale restaurant, once again of their choosing.

“We wanted to impress you this time,” Sehun says, meeting him at the entrance. He’s wearing a dark, casual suit without a tie and the top most buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. His throat is bare, with more than a little hint of chest and Chanyeol is already impressed.

“The food at the last place was plenty impressive.” Then he looks down at his own outfit—dark jeans, a collared shirt, and leather jacket. “I’m feeling a little underdressed.”

“You’re really not. I just came from a meeting with my management and didn’t have time to go home and change,” Sehun says, leading the way to a secluded back table with only a nod to the hostess.

“This late?” It’s nearing 9 p.m.

Sehun shrugs before pulling out a chair for Chanyeol and gesturing for him to sit with a cheeky grin. Chanyeol takes the proffered seat gamely. “The meeting was with an international brand wanting to work with me and there was a time difference.”

A server comes to take their drink order and Sehun gets wine for the table. They’re also given menus and Chanyeol takes note that it's the kind of restaurant that doesn’t list the prices next to the food.

“Junmyeon hyung should be here soon. He says got caught in traffic.” Sehun holds up his phone, their group chat on the screen. The last message is from Junmyeon, telling them he’ll be a little late. “How’ve you been, hyung?” Under the table, a foot nudges Chanyeol before hooking around his ankle.

Chanyeol looks up from his idle perusal of the menu to find Sehun grinning at him. “Busy,” he answers a beat too late and Sehun’s grin turns into a smirk.

“Yeah? I don’t know anything about interior design. Is it very exciting?”

What’s exciting is Sehun’s attention, the way it’s pinpoint focused on Chanyeol and his every word. Even more exciting is his look of genuine interest, asking thoughtful, open-ended questions that keep Chanyeol talking for long minutes at a time. He has to physically stop himself from waxing poetic about the importance of design principles and color theory by taking a sip of his wine.

“Please tell me to stop talking anytime,” he says, setting his glass down after a healthy mouthful. The wine is red and surprisingly sweet, sitting full on his tongue. Or maybe its just the company that takes the bitterness out of the alcohol. “I don’t want to bore you.”

“You’re not boring at all, hyung,” Sehun says nudging playfully at Chanyeol’s foot with his own. “I like listening to you talk about work. It’s obvious that you enjoy your job.”

“I do. It’s definitely more than just a paycheck.”

Before Sehun can comment the server returns asking them if they’re ready to order. Chanyeol doesn’t know what to choose so he takes the server’s recommendation of the chef’s special of the night, a steak and seafood combination.

“That’s one’s good,” Sehun agrees. “I think I’ll have the same.” He orders a steak for Junmyeon too. “We’re regulars here,” Sehun explains without Chanyeol asking.

“I noticed.”

They make small talk for another few minutes before Junmyeon is joining them, looking a little harried.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he apologizes as soon as he walks up to their table. He’s shaking his head. “I was on the other side of the city and traffic was horrible. You’d think it wouldn’t be so bad this late and on a weekday.” He leans down and kisses Sehun first in greeting, and then Chanyeol.

He does it so quickly, so casually, that Chanyeol just sits frozen in his seat for a moment, blinking at him.

“Chanyeol, is something wrong?” There’s a look of concern on Junmyeon’s face, one that doesn’t belong there.

“Actually, there is,” Sehun says before Chanyeol can answer. Then he’s leaning over and kissing Chanyeol full on the mouth, too. “I’ve been wanting to do that since we sat down,” he says against Chanyeol’s lips before pulling away.

“Why didn’t you?” Chanyeol asks, voice a little hoarse and more than a little dazed at being kissed so suddenly in quick succession.

“Maybe I’m nervous,” Sehun muses out loud as he settles back into his seat. “Why didn’t you?”

The question makes heat crawl up Chanyeol’s neck and into his face, but he internally bats away the shyness and embarrassment threatening to shut him up. They’d said that

communication is key to making things work and God, does Chanyeol want this—them—to work. “I didn’t know if I could.”

Apparently his answer is not the one they’re expecting because it’s followed by a beat of silence, the kind that makes Chanyeol nervous.

“Of course you can, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon says, reaching for Chanyeol’s hand and twining their fingers together. “I know this is new and we’re all still sort of walking on eggshells trying to figure out how we want to pace things. But I want to be perfectly clear that you don’t need my permission to kiss Sehun. And you don’t need his permission to kiss me either. We’ll tell you ‘no’ ourselves, but quite frankly I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” Junmyeon moves his chair in closer so he can cup Chanyeol’s face in one hand, thumb stroking the skin over his cheek. “So don’t be afraid to kiss us whenever and however much you want.”

“We plan to do the same with you—if that’s okay,” Sehun adds as an afterthought.

They keep surprising him and Chanyeol is barely keeping up. “Yes,” Chanyeol says, giving in to the urge to lean into Junmyeon’s steady palm and earning another, sweeter kiss from the older man.

Junmyeon smiles at him, the same one that makes Chanyeol’s heart race and skip a beat. “Now—what did I miss?”

Dinner is a surprisingly easy affair.

Junmyeon barely sips at his half glass of red wine because he’s driving, but it flows freely between Chanyeol and Sehun. The food is great, exactly as expected. The company is even better though.

Chanyeol really shouldn’t be drinking so much because he needs to be in the office early the next day, but Sehun keeps refilling his glass and they’re both equally attentive, showering Chanyeol with attention—asking about his work, his friendship with Baekhyun, his hobbies. Chanyeol is getting drunk on more than just the wine.

“So you’re something like a jack of all trades,” Junmyeon muses, bumping Chanyeol’s shoulder playfully. He’s moved his chair even closer to Chanyeol over the course of dinner, close enough to brush shoulders and lay a hand on Chanyeol’s thigh.

“Master of none?” Sehun pipes up from Chanyeol’s other side. And he’s closer too, sandwiching Chanyeol, leaving the whole other half of the table empty. When had that happened?

“Oh, well maybe,” Chanyeol answers, a little flustered when he realizes what they must look like to onlookers.

“I’m sure you’re very good at your hobbies, Chanyeol. Sehun just likes to tease.”

“Yeah, if modeling ever becomes your day job instead of a hobby I might be out of a job,” Sehun jokes.

“Do you model full time?” Chanyeol asks, easily distracted and genuinely curious.

Sehun makes a face. “Sort of, but not really.”

“Sehun’s more what you’d call...an influencer.” Junmyeon says with a teasing grin.

“I hate being called that.” Sehun says with a scowl that’s more of a pout than anything. “I’m not influencing anything.”

“I don’t get it,” Chanyeol tilts his head at the younger man, looking back at Junmyeon for some kind of explanation.

Junmyeon laughs, the sound carrying in their little corner of the room. “I’m sure Sehun’s already told you—and if he hasn’t you’ll find out pretty soon—but I like to give the people I care about gifts. A few years ago, he started an Instagram account and posted some of the stuff I’d given him and tagged the brands for fun.”

“It was supposed to be a joke,” Sehun grumbles, chin in one hand. He’s looking a little flushed and for what feels like for the time since they’d met, Chanyeol isn’t the one blushing in embarrassment. “No one was supposed to take me seriously.”

Junmyeon nods, the fond quirk of his mouth never quite leaving his face as he recounts his story. “For a while he only had a few hundred followers, mostly just our friends and family. But then we met some people through my work and things really blew up when he started appearing on Tik Tok and Weibo with other famous models. The brands he used to tag for fun took notice and now here we are.”

“I blame Jongin,” Sehun wrinkles his nose at the name, eyebrows twin slashes on his forehead. Chanyeol takes note of the unfamiliar name, to ask later. “He kept dragging me into his Insta Lives even when I said I didn’t want to.”

Junmyeon laughs again, the sound of it melodic and making Chanyeol’s ears tingle. “I was there for a few of those lives and I managed not to make an appearance. Besides, you weren’t exactly unwilling.”

Sehun grumbles under his breath, crossing his arms instead.

“Do you not like being—I mean, don’t you like what you do?” Chanyeol asks. Sehun just shrugs.

“It’s a little complicated,” Junmyeon explains. “Not all the attention has been positive and there’s a lot of pressure at times to conform.”

“It’s nothing too bad, but I do get noticed every now and then. Most people who come up to me are really nice, but I can’t help but feel like someone’s always watching and it’s just—” Sehun gives a little shudder, avoiding their gaze by swirling his glass of wine.

Maybe it’s the wine, maybe it’s the way Sehun’s the most subdued Chanyeol’s seen him since they met, but Chanyeol’s heart clenches at the sight of him. Chanyeol wants to wrap him up in a hug and kiss him senseless, until the furrow in his brow smooths out and the troubled expression on his face. If he has any more wine, he might do exactly that, but for now he settles for reaching for Sehun’s unoccupied hand and bringing it up to his face. He presses the knuckles against his cheek, lips brushing at Sehun’s fingertips.

Sehun inhales sharply through his nose, his fingers twitching against Chanyeol’s lips. His eyes are dark, unreadable.

There’s only so much they can do here, out in public, in their secluded corner, but Chanyeol does the best he can to channel as much warmth and comfort as humanly possible in these meager touches they’re allowed.

“Hyung…” Sehun breathes, the word uttered half in awe. The other half sounds like a plea Chanyeol finds himself desperate to answer.

“Why don’t we continue this elsewhere?” Junmyeon leans over to murmur quietly. His hand on Chanyeol’s thigh is a weight Chanyeol can’t ignore. His eyes meet Junmyeon’s; the question must be plain on his face because Junmyeon pats his thigh reassuringly. “Would you like to come home with us, Chanyeol?”

The invitation is not a surprise. Chanyeol had considered it might be a possibility the minute they’d made plans to meet, and the easy, pleasant course dinner had taken had made the possibility into an inevitability. What’s surprising is the overwhelming urge Chanyeol has to say yes. It’s only their second date. Past experience reminds Chanyeol that he should know better than to put out on the second date, not if he wants this relationship to last. But they make it so hard for Chanyeol to say no. They never push; instead they coax, dangling all sorts of possibilities and leaving Chanyeol to decide.

Chanyeol’s only said yes to them so far and he hasn’t yet been burned. He says yes again and dares to hope for the same.

They live in a penthouse apartment in Gangnam, because of course they do.

There’s a doorman and underground parking, with an elevator that plays instrumental Bossa nova, and has plush carpeting leading to the residential doors. Not that Chanyeol is paying too much attention to these details. He can’t, not when Sehun is practically melded to his side, has been since they’d left the restaurant. He’d even sat with Chanyeol in the back, his nose pressed into the curve of Chanyeol’s neck. The look Junmyeon had given them in the rearview mirror was fond, indulgent, so Chanyeol said nothing and continued to hold Sehun the way he wanted.

In the apartment, Chanyeol barely has a moment to remove his shoes and jacket before Sehun pulls him onto the couch and curls himself into Chanyeol’s lap, managing to look small only because Chanyeol is slightly bigger. Sehun is made up of toned muscle with little bulk, but his shoulders are broad and his waist small, fitting into Chanyeol’s large hands with deceptive ease. “Can I kiss you, hyung?” He asks quietly while nosing around Chanyeol’s cheek.

“I thought we weren’t asking anymore,” Chanyeol replies, looping Sehun’s arms around his neck.

“You make me nervous.” Sehun shrugs. It’s the second time tonight he’s said something similar, except this time Chanyeol isn’t distracted by the venue or the wine or his own insecurities. Now he knows a little better where he stands, knows a little better what he wants, never mind that he might very well crash and burn. What he hadn’t realized is that maybe he isn’t the only one who feels like they’re falling head first into uncharted territory.

“Why?”

“Because I really like you,” Sehun says, honest, even despite his admission of nerves. “Because no matter how many times Junmyeon hyung and I have done this before, this time feels different. You’re different.”

It sounds like a line—or at least it should. Chanyeol’s heard variations of the same thing in the past, relationships doomed to fail before they ever really took off. Even Baekhyun’s said something along the same lines, I love yous that ended in we’re better off as friends. But it sounds different coming from Sehun, his breathy exhale just slightly unsteady, vulnerable but still open, the words ringing with sincerity.

When he decided in the restaurant to keep telling them yes, Chanyeol had made peace with the possibility of heartbreak for a chance at something better, something long lasting. It’s stupid, but he’s always been the type to go all in, giving everything he’s got, no matter the consequences. Baekhyun can attest the to number of times Chanyeol’s had his heartbroken—it’s why Baekhyun hems and haws and hovers, why Baekhyun is the voice of reason in his head, telling Chanyeol to slow down, you’re falling way too fast.

“I really like you too.” It’s the only answer he has, going against his better judgment and trying to imbue the words with the same level of feeling Sehun rouses in him.

Sehun’s reply is another shaky breath and the press of his lips.

It’s far from the first time they’ve kissed, but it is the first time Chanyeol’s doing the kissing. He doesn’t hesitate, hauling Sehun against him until they’re both groaning at his weight in Chanyeol’s lap. Sehun tastes like the wine they’d had for dinner, sweetness hedging out the bitter tang of alcohol. Maybe it’s his new found resolve to see how far his yeses will take them, but Chanyeol doesn’t hold back. He pours himself into the kiss, lets his hands wander, skirting beneath the hem of Sehun’s untucked shirt. The feel of sharp hip bones for him to grab and hold onto makes Chanyeol groan. Sehun squirms in his lap and echoes the sound.

“H-hyung,” Sehun whines when Chanyeol’s hands dip lower, brushing against the growing bulge in Sehun’s trousers. Chanyeol doesn’t realize it's not him Sehun is calling for until there’s another set of fingers threading through his hair, down his neck, and then squeezing his shoulder.

“I’m here,” Junmyeon says, hovering above them from behind the couch. Chanyeol experiences a fleeting pang of alarm before he remembers he’s allowed this—Sehun in his lap and Junmyeon’s fingers in his hair. Chanyeol tilts his back against the couch until he’s blinking up at Junmyeon from upside down.

“Hyung,” Chanyeol says, almost shyly. He can’t help but think Junmyeon is terribly handsome, even from this angle.

Chanyeol doesn’t know what Junmyeon sees right then as he and Sehun stare up at the older man, but whatever picture they make has Junmyeon groaning, tightening his fingers in their hair. Sehun whimpers, growing harder against Chanyeol’s palm. Chanyeol feels arousal coil tight in his gut at the same time. Junmyeon leans down to kiss Sehun in a way he has yet to kiss Chanyeol—hard and fast and filthy. Sehun trembles in Chanyeol’s lap, his fingernails digging into Chanyeol’s back. Junmyeon pulls away moments later with a wet sound, their lips connected by a thread of saliva quickly licked away.

“Take this off,” Junmyeon tugs at their shirts and Chanyeol and Sehun are quick to oblige. Junmyeon comes around to help Sehun out of his pants and while Chanyeol clumsily does away with his own jeans. He has to bite back a moan at the sight of Junmyeon running fingers up and down Sehun’s thighs from behind, dragging blunt nails over the generous expanse of smooth, pale skin. He leaves tracks of raised lines in his wake and it’s visible the way Sehun sinks into his embrace, shaking with his arousal.

Sehun’s grip on Junmyeon’s forearms is white knuckled when the older man wraps fingers around the base of his cock; Chanyeol can’t stop the needy sound he makes at how thick Sehun is, how he seems to grow even bigger the longer Junmyeon touches him. Chanyeol’s throat constricts with the want, the need to have Sehun’s cock in his mouth, his own arousal building at the thought of its heavy weight pressing against his tongue.

Junmyeon dips his other hand lower, fondling Sehun’s balls, tugging at them gently until Sehun is arching his back and crying out. “Want to taste?” He asks Chanyeol, nudging Sehun a little closer and offering up the cock in his hand.

Chanyeol almost asks can I? out of habit but thinks better of it when he Junmyeon casts him a knowing look. Chanyeol acts instead. He pulls Sehun closer by the hips and Junmyeon feeds the fat head of Sehun’s cock into his mouth inch by inch while Sehun keens. Chanyeol moans at the salty bitterness that coats his tongue. He tries to sink lower but his lips are stopped by Junmyeon’s fingers, still gripping, still holding. He won’t let Chanyeol go any further, murmuring for Chanyeol to take only what he allows. “Keep sucking,” he says, a commanding edge to his voice that Chanyeol snaps at attention to obey.

So Chanyeol does, sucking hard to make up for the scant inches of Sehun Junmyeon permits him. He lets enough saliva pool in his mouth that it coats even Junmyeon’s hands shiny in spit while he licks and licks, tracing the big vein on the underside of Sehun’s cock, dipping his head this way and that to lap at Junmyeon’s fingers as well. Soon enough Junmyeon is letting go of Sehun to offer his palm for Chanyeol to lick. Chanyeol takes it as a job well done because when Junmyeon starts tugging at Sehun again, he leaves enough inches for Chanyeol to choke on. Chanyeol isn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he does just that. He can barely sink more than half way down before his gag reflex kicks in, but he suppresses it for as long as he can just to feel the way Sehun jerks against their hold. He really would have choked if Junmyeon wasn’t still holding Sehun by the balls.

Chanyeol is panting when he comes back up for air. The lack of oxygen makes his head spin and Chanyeol loves the heady feeling. Junmyeon continues to stroke Sehun’s cock slowly, and above him, Chanyeol’s ears prickle at the mention of his name.

“Look at that baby, he took your cock so well,” Junmyeon mouths against the back of Sehun’s shoulder. “Did you like it? Did it feel good when Chanyeollie sucked your big cock?” Sehun’s bigger bulk writhes in Junmyeon’s arms, but the older man is as steady as a rock, unmoving even as Sehun starts to roll his hips, searching for more friction. Chanyeol’s fingers grip Sehun’s bony hips tighter, his own arousal coiling sharply in his gut with Junmyeon’s every word.

“You’re so pretty together,” Junmyeon murmurs, eyes dark, the weight of his gaze heavy as he stares at Chanyeol too. “So, so pretty. My big boys.”

Chanyeol can’t suppress a whine at the possessive inflection of Junmyeon’s words, directed not only at Sehun, but Chanyeol too. Liquid heat pulses through Chanyeol’s veins, making him lightheaded. He leans his forehead against the crease of Sehun’s thigh, panting wetly into the skin. His own cock throbs and Chanyeol feels ready to explode and no one’s even touched him yet.

One of Junmyeon’s hands lands on his head and Chanyeol can’t find it in himself to be disgusted by the stickiness he feels catching on his hair. He leans into it, reaching around to clutch the back of Junmyeon’s clothed thighs. He’s the only one still dressed.

Junmyeon’s breathy chuckle is loud when Chanyeol pulls them all closer together. “Let me watch you two together for a while longer.” He pushes on Chanyeol’s shoulder and Chanyeol follows the motion like a puppet on strings. “There you go, just like that. Touch each other just like that,” he says as he helps Sehun straddle Chanyeol’s lap.

Sehun’s arms wrap around Chanyeol’s shoulders and Chanyeol’s fingers grip Sehun’s thighs, both of them falling into the motion and position instinctively. Sehun buries his face into Chanyeol’s shoulder and grinds down into Chanyeol’s lap, rubbing against each other’s erections. “Ngh—“ Sehun makes little noises as he works his hips, and licks at the column of Chanyeol’s neck.

“Hold him open for me.” Chanyeol let’s his hands be directed, inching around to grab Sehun’s ass. The flesh gives easily under his grip, full and firm, and Chanyeol can’t help but squeeze. Sehun arches up against him to moan loudly, offering up the expanse of his clavicle for Chanyeol’s teeth to sink into. Junmyeon must be doing something with his fingers where Chanyeol can’t see because Sehun jerks hard against him, nails digging into his skin.

“H-hyung—“

“Not yet, baby,” Junmyeon whispers, leaving a tiny kiss to the side of Sehun’s neck, right over his pulse. He pulls his hand away and Sehun goes limp against Chanyeol, trembling. “I’m not done watching.” Then he steps back, followed by the sound of a belt being undone and a zipper being pulled down.

He sits on the coffee table a few feet away, legs spread wide, and leaning back against one arm. The other makes its way between his legs, occupied, the motions of his hand familiar, even if all Chanyeol can see of his cock is barely the tip peeking out of the thick band of undoubtedly expensive underwear. “Keep going,” he tilts his chin at them and puts more weight on the arm holding him up, flexing his hips and getting comfortable.

The words are a command, despite the near whisper they’re spoken in and it makes Chanyeol groan, tilting his head up and pulling Sehun down by his neck in another kiss. It’s sloppy this time, wet and messy, hardly any technique. He and Sehun suck on each other’s tongue, all the while finding a rhythm with their hips. Gradually, they end up tilting sideways, seeking more friction, until they’re both horizontal on the couch and can rub against every inch of each other from the chest down.

All the additional points of contact have them moaning into the clumsy press of their mouths. Chanyeol can feel himself shooting for release with every thrust, Sehun’s breathy whine setting fire to his nerves and lighting up the base of spine. They’re both close, their bodies lining up deliciously, but not quite enough to push them over the edge.

“What do you need, baby?” Junmyeon asks the question directed at Sehun. His voice taking on a low, measured edge makes Chanyeol’s brain short circuit . “Do you want Chanyeol hyung to take care of you?” Chanyeol doesn’t know what it is about the question that has the blood rushing in his ears, rushing south, but all of a sudden he feels too hot, like molten lava smoldering in his veins. Sehun whines in answer, louder and needier than Chanyeol’s ever heard him.

“Not gonna—” Chanyeol interrupts himself to pant for breath, that tell-tale tingle of orgasm already pulling tight at his groin.

Junmyeon finally comes back, kneeling beside them, hands everywhere all of a sudden. “Shh,” he soothes, “Here, like this.” He pulls at their limbs until they’ve each got a thigh between the legs to rub against. Chanyeol bends a knee so Sehun can do just that and the effect of the added pressure is immediate. They rut against each other frantically, consumed by the kind of want Chanyeol’s never felt before.

Sex has never felt like this before—stealing his every coherent thought, every inch of his skin a live wire, an exposed nerve—Chanyeol throbs for release. He’s reduced to nothing more than base desires, a conduit for the torrent of climax taking over his body. Even then, succumbing to it feels like another level entirely. He’s pretty sure time stops—one minute its fire eating at his nerves and then suddenly there’s a blaze, an inferno lit up under his skin. In those split seconds before the heat consumes him, Chanyeol doesn’t even breathe, body going rigid at the sudden onslaught of sensation.

He crushes Sehun to him, arms wrapped tight and muscles spasming. He hears himself cry out, the sound echoed into his ear as Sehun does the same. Climax is an absence of sight and sound; only feeling remains, pleasure a closed circuit as Sehun keeps coming, liquid heat spurting across his abdomen and making the slide that much slicker. The pleasure doesn’t stop, just keeps going until Chanyeol feels rung out, drained, gasping for breath.

His limbs shake with the aftermath, making him weak. Sehun is a deadweight on top of him, his breath still shallow and quick in Chanyeol’s ear, his heartbeat thundering against Chanyeol’s chest.

There are kisses being pressed to his forehead, his cheek, his nose, his chin. There’s a hand in his hair, fingers stroking down his face. Slowly, awareness filters back in.

“My beautiful boys. So good for me. So good,” the words are a rushed whisper against the shell of his ear before Sehun’s weight is easing off him, just to the side so Chanyeol can finally take a full breath. It's stolen again by a kiss he doesn’t expect, Junmyeon’s mouth over his just long enough to curl his tongue before its gone and then he’s kissing Sehun. Junmyeon goes back and forth between them, over and over, until he’s inhaling sharply and shuddering against them.

The thought of Junmyeon’s arousal, that he came to the sight of them rutting on the couch is enough to have Chanyeol shuddering, cock twitching and sparks skittering down his spine.

Junmyeon lets out a breathy chuckle at Chanyeol’s involuntary reaction, leaving a little kiss to Chanyeol’s sternum before he pulls away slowly. “Be right back,” he says and stands. From the corner of his eyes he spies Junmyeon disappearing into a hallway.

In the time he’s gone, Sehun starts to stir, turning a little so he’s pressed up against the backside of the couch. He throws an arm over Chanyeol’s chest and a long, lean leg over Chanyeol’s hips. “We’re so gross,” he murmurs into the ball of Chanyeol’s shoulder, wiggling his hips so that they both feel the rapidly cooling mess all over them. Chanyeol wrinkles his nose but is too tired to complain. Sehun only nuzzles closer. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah?” Chanyeol doesn’t know why he feels the need to ask, but he does.

Sehun snorts, plopping back down. “Obviously.” He pauses. “Was it not—”

“It was, it was,” Chanyeol hurries to say, catching Sehun’s hand in his own and lifting it to his lips. He presses a kiss to the palm and leaves it covering half of his face, wondering if he’s being too honest when he says, “I’m just not…used to people feeling the same way.”

There’s a palpable beat of awkward silence before Sehun his clambering to sit up. “Wait, what?” The look on his face is a little thunderous, eyebrows twin slashes of disbelief. “You mean like, sex or feelings?”

Chanyeol feels his face doing something complicated, probably a strange expression between chagrin and shame. “Both?”

“Fuck, hyung—have you only dated idiots?” Chanyeol wisely does not mention Baekhyun. “Because you’re amazing. The sex we just had? Also amazing. Are you trying to tell me there are people out there who aren’t into you?”

It's a genuine question that sort of leaves Chanyeol stunned. “…yes?”

Sehun almost gapes at him, looking almost offended on his behalf. “Hyung,” he says, definitely sounding offended. He takes Chanyeol’s face between his hands. “We are going to date you so hard.”

He sounds so earnest—looks so determined—that Chanyeol feels tears prickle at the corner of his eyes unbidden. The words are thick in his throat, sounding a little wet when he says, “Yeah, okay.”

With the success of their second date, another one is quickly lined up, as well as another, and another, and another. It’s not without difficulty, however.

Their work schedules continue to be a hindrance, all of them too busy to meet during regular hours in the day. Chanyeol has an office job with set hours so he finds himself working overtime some days to free up time to see them whenever he can. Both Junmyeon and Sehun work odd hours, sometimes working days and days on end, before staying home for periods at a time. Junmyeon goes on frequent trips for work, and Sehun does too, though not quite as many.

The online calendar they share becomes invaluable—Chanyeol loves the way they’re each greedy and safeguard their time together, a group effort instead of just the force of Chanyeol’s feelings pulling them along. He loves the way Junmyeon is a stickler for time, making it a point never to be late again after their second date, always coming home when he says he is and checking in when he’s caught in something unexpected. He loves the way Sehun logs out of his social media accounts when they’re together, going so far as to put away his phone in another room—out of sight, out of mind.

They make good on their promise to date Chanyeol as hard as they can.

Sehun will call him out during a random work day to treat him out to lunch, or just bring him a coffee or bubble tea if Chanyeol doesn’t have the time. Sehun has a private Instagram account he uses to tag Chanyeol on everything—from cute dogs to memes to quick recipe reels. He uses as many emojis as Chanyeol does and isn’t shy about sending him selfies.

Junmyeon he sees more often in the evenings, his sporadic work schedule making dinner the easiest time to meet. More often than not, dinner leads to them heading back to the penthouse and spending the night together, and soon it’s happening often enough that Chanyeol earns himself space in their closet. What starts out as just a drawer becomes a whole dresser in a matter of weeks because Junmyeon wastes no time in buying Chanyeol things to fill it with.

Right before summer ends, they wrangle the time to take a train to Busan. They make a long weekend out of it; Chanyeol requests for time off and both Junmyeon and Sehun make sure to keep their schedules for that weekend empty. It takes less than three hours to arrive and Junmyeon rents a car to the hotel. The hotel he’s booked is predictably luxurious. Chanyeol’s had a few months to get used to Junmyeon’s generosity. He no longer balks at the older man’s extravagant gifts, finding joy in the way Junmyeon’s eyes light up in pleasure when he gives them things.

The hotel is right by the beach and Chanyeol can barely contain his excitement at the thought of playing in the water. It takes some coaxing, but he gets Sehun and Junmyeon to join in a few of the activities—paddle board lessons, windsurfing, and the banana boat. The two of them indulge Chanyeol’s competitive spirit instead of becoming annoyed when Chanyeol goads them into who can stay on the banana boat longest, or who can stand up on the paddle board the quickest.

He discovers Junmyeon’s weakness; the man has the competitive spirit to match Chanyeol’s, but he’s clumsy with his body when sex isn’t involved. His dad jokes and puns take Chanyeol by surprise as well, some of them so bad it’s funny.

“Just laugh,” Sehun tells him sagely after a particularly bad pun, “We have to respect our elders.” Chanyeol laughs so hard he almost snorts his Pina Colada up his nose.

Aside from spending time by the beach they also tour the city. They take part of a day to stop by Gamcheon, the stunning, kaleidoscope colored village taking up space on Sehun’s aesthetic Instagram feed and bleeding into Chanyeol’s as well. There’s a different kind of excitement in walking amongst the different colored houses, getting lost between tiny streets and steep stairways, discovering the impressive street art and sculptures. Chanyeol especially likes the way they take turns holding hands down less busy alleyways, posing cutely and taking pictures any chance they get.

They visit a brewery too, sampling all sorts of American style beer. Chanyeol knows immediately that this place is Sehun’s pick, having become familiar with Sehun’s high tolerance for alcohol and his penchant for getting handsy after he’s had a few glasses. Chanyeol’s own tolerance is shit, but Junmyeon indulges them as always, making sure they eat between samples and don’t drink too much.

Still, Chanyeol’s favorite time during the trip is when they finally make their way back to the hotel. The hotel is connected to a private hot spring that is worth every penny Junmyeon paid for the reservation. After a delicious dinner gorging themselves on fresh seafood every evening, they soak in the hot springs. They have to work hard to keep their hands from wandering, especially when there are others around, but the wait is worth it because by the time they make it back to their room, they can barely contain themselves.

Junmyeon’s a tease, always making them wait, insisting that they rub lotion all over their sun burnt skin. Never mind that they’re barely burnt at all because Sehun was surprisingly diligent about rubbing sunscreen on them every time he had a chance.

“It’s because he’s got a lifetime supply of sun sticks from one of the brands he endorses,” Junmyeon had told him while they were on the beach. “If we don’t use it here now, we’ll never get rid of them.”

In hindsight, Chanyeol is grateful because the touch of Junmyeon’s hands barely sting when they rub over his neck and shoulders. Junmyeon’s hands are skillful when it comes to things like this, taking them apart piece by piece, unintentionally seductive when he’s taking care of them. Chanyeol starts to suspect Junmyeon’s motives, however, when he skims lower and lower, the motion of his hands is followed by the press of lips and the swipe of his tongue.

“That’s- I’m not...there’s no sunburn there,” Chanyeol gasps when Junmyeon’s fingers stray down to squeeze his ass.

“No?” Junmyeon hums in consideration. “Should I stop?” Chanyeol stifles a groan by shoving his face into the pillow beneath him, tilting his hips up and into Junmyeon’s touch. The amused chuckle Junmyeon lets out has heat burning all the way through Chanyeol’s ears.

He realizes he’s played right into Junmyeon’s hands when the familiar pop of a cap is followed by slick fingers dipping down the cleft of his ass and fluttering against his hole. The lube is even warm and he hadn’t heard Junmyeon looking for it.

“Y-you planned this,” Chanyeol throws an accusing look over his shoulder, his tone without even a hint of venom.

“Just a little,” Junmyeon pauses his ministrations for a moment to lean over Chanyeol and kiss him properly. It's not the best angle for a kiss, but Junmyeon’s weight on top of him presses his half hard dick into the bed and Junmyeon’s tongue in his mouth has Chanyeol melting. “What do you want?” Junmyeon asks, nipping at the shell of Chanyeol’s ear. His own erection is a hot, hard line against Chanyeol’s lower back. “It might be hard to get into the water tomorrow if we fuck you tonight.”

It’s a testament to how much Junmyeon really cares when Chanyeol hadn’t even considered how he’d feel missing out on playing at the beach the following day. It’s also telling, the way Chanyeol doesn’t feel guilty about the split second he considers foregoing the fucking—there’s no anxiety that Junmyeon or Sehun will hold it against him.

Chanyeol whines into the pillow because in the end it’s not that hard to choose. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t in Busan often. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of Junmyeon’s attention, his personal brand of seduction. It always fills Chanyeol up from the inside, starting from deep in his chest, and then outward until all Chanyeol can feel is Junmyeon, his warmth, and—it might be too soon to be thinking this, but Chanyeol dares because it’s Junmyeon—his love.

“Please,” the word is half muffled into the pillow.

“Hm? What was that baby?” Junmyeon’s lips don’t stop tracing Chanyeol’s neck and shoulders, neither do his fingers. He’s teasing, dipping a finger to the first knuckle—in and out, in and out—so infuriatingly slow when he knows Chanyeol can take more than that.

“Please,” Chanyeol grits out, turning his head so the word doesn’t catch onto the pillow. He wiggles his hips, quickly losing any sense of shame when his pleasure is pretty much guaranteed in Junmyeon’s hands.

“Oh?” Junmyeon punctuates the word by pressing the rest of his finger all the way in, still so slowly, still not enough. “You wanna stay in bed all day tomorrow?” Chanyeol can’t be expected to answer, not when Junmyeon’s trying to drive him crazy and succeeding. “Answer me, baby. Tell hyung what you want.”

Chanyeol groans in frustration, clutching at his pillow. “H-hyung, c’mon, p-please…”

Before the older man can answer, a petulant huff from somewhere behind the bed is Chanyeol’s only respite, distracting him long enough to take a steadying breath.

“You guys started without me,” Sehun complains before throwing his weight onto the bed and making it bounce. He smells like the expensive shower gel provided by the hotel. He reaches for Chanyeol, tugging at the pillow his face is buried in. “At least let me see your face.”

“Ngh—stop,”

“Stop?”

“Not you, hyung,” Chayeol grumbles. Sehun tickles him with fingers underneath his chin and Chanyeol turns his face away and swipes at him to get him to stop.

Sehun tugs at the hair right above his ear in retaliation. “Why are you grumpy?” He asks, pinching at Chanyeol’s earlobe and earning himself a groan.

“He can’t decide between getting fucked tonight or getting in the water tomorrow,” Junmyeon answers unhelpfully. “Or rather he’s already decided and is grumpy at having to give up the water activities tomorrow.”

“Ah,” Sehun says with a knowing hum. “I’d be grumpy too, if I had to make that choice.”

“We just have to make it worth his while, right Sehunnie?” Junmyeon leans down to bite at the meat of Chanyeol’s shoulder, and the hint of teeth makes Chanyeol keen.

Sehun replies by threading fingers into Chanyeol’s hair and pulling hard, just the way Chanyeol likes. His eyes are dark and mischievous when he whole-heartedly agrees, “Of course, hyung.”

What follows is some of the best sex Chanyeol’s ever had.

He finds out that the reason Sehun had taken so long in the bathroom was because he’d been preparing too, stuffing long fingers into himself until he was nice and loose, and perfect for Chanyeol to sink into without any further preparation. He holds Chanyeol to him, tight against his firm chest and broad shoulders and Chanyeol squirms. He doesn’t know if he should fuck into Sehun’s tight heat, or back against Junmyeon’s skillful fingers. He hates having to choose, but in the end the decision is out of his hands. He’s been teased for so long, had been burning with arousal since dinner and the hot springs that he comes surprisingly quick, unable to hold back the loud, whimpering groan he lets out when Junmyeon’s fingers press hard against his prostate.

He’s a shaking mess afterwards, knees weak and mind spinning, gasping for air. Sehun holds him through it, wrapping arms around his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. He makes the tiniest noise when Chanyeol slips out of him with a little gush, warm and wet.

“Good?” Junmyeon asks, leaning over the both of them, kissing each of them in turn.

“Mmhm,” is all Chanyeol’s capable of, still trying to catch his breath.

“Should I keep going?” Junmyeon asks, his fingers still busy, gently rubbing against the rim of Chanyeol’s hole, knowing how sensitive Chanyeol is after he’s come. His lips are soft over Chanyeol’s lower back, coaxing but not pushy—never pushy.

“Can I fuck you, hyung?” Sehun drags his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair and pulling at the ends, pulling until Chanyeol can raise his head to meet Sehun’s eyes.

“Mn,” Chanyeol manages, eyelids fluttering just as Junmyeon’s fingers get more daring. “Go slow.”

Even Sehun—pillow princess that he is—can be counted on to do all the work when he’s got the right incentive. He moans the loudest when Chanyeol’s rolled over onto his back and spreads his legs as wide as they’ll go. He welcomes Sehun with his body, without need for words, just his open arms. Sehun is achingly gentle when he pulls Chanyeol’s hips onto his thighs, knees hooked over Sehun’s elbows. When he leans over, it's Junmyeon’s fingers that guide him into Chanyeol—slowly, just as Chanyeol had asked—controlling the pace until it feels like forever before Sehun’s considerable length is all the way inside. It feels long enough that Chanyeol feels his cock twitch valiantly in arousal at the incredible fullness Sehun’s cock always fills him with.

“Ngh—“ Chanyeol’s eyes squeeze shut at the first thrust; oversensitivity has him toeing the line between pain and pleasure, ready to slip either way at any moment.

“You okay, baby?” Junmyeon’s stretched out beside him now, rubbing at his hip. He peppers kisses all over the side of Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol feels his hand skim over his cock in question, a suggestion.

“Y-yeah,” Chanyeol nods his head distractedly. “Please.”

“Good boy,” Junmyeon whispers against his cheek before he wraps those talented fingers around Chanyeol’s soft cock.

With Sehun fucking him and Junmyeon’s hand on his cock, he’s hard again in what feels like no time. Chanyeol writhes between them, breaths heaving as the arousal begins to coil sharply again in his groin. Junmyeon doesn’t let up until he’s leaking, and by that time Sehun’s rhythm has started to falter slightly, still fucking Chanyeol slow, but harder.

“Ready for me?” Junmyeon says, and for a second Chanyeol has no idea what he’s talking about. He wants to whine at the loss of Junmyeon’s heat next to him, but when he focuses his gaze, its to find Junmyeon behind Sehun and slicking up his own cock. This time when Sehun falters, its Chanyeol’s fault, unable to stop the involuntary squeezing of his muscles at the thought of Junmyeon fucking Sehun into him.

Sehun must give some kind of answer because suddenly there’s an added weight pressing Chanyeol into the bed, Junmyeon’s one hand braced against broad shoulders, and the other gripping Sehun’s hip. From then on he controls the pace, thrusting his hips in time to the way Sehun fucks Chanyeol. The added weight means more pressure, more heat, more stimulation. There’s more power to Sehun’s thrusts, pushing Chanyeol right through the feeling of oversensitivity and just making him feel.

The pleasure unravelling in his gut is sharp, just this side of pain. His heart pounds loudly in his chest, the blood rushing in his ears. He’s so close it almost hurts.

“Fuck—” Sehun curses, letting go of Chanyeol’s legs when he falls onto his elbows. Junmyeon’s quick to pull Chanyeol’s long legs over his hips, and the slight change in position has Chanyeol crying out, tightening around Sehun’s cock until the younger man is moaning too. “H-hyung, I’m—”

“Go ahead, baby—both of you, come,” Junmyeon says, sounding out of breath for the first time since they started. And it should be unfair, how composed he still sounds when Chanyeol’s throat feels raw with all the sounds he can’t contain. Instead, it's that little detail that pushes Chanyeol over the edge, thoughts of how only he and Sehun will ever hear Junmyeon like this filling his head and following him to climax.

He and Sehun come at almost the same time, the tight heat of his body pulling Sehun’s orgasm out of him almost forcefully. Sehun’s full weight lands on him with a gust of exhaled breath, unable to pull in another one while he’s crushed under Sehun’s body. He feels Junmyeon keep thrusting for another few seconds before he, too, succumbs like the rest of them.

Chanyeol legitimately cannot breathe for the few seconds Junmyeon’s weight slumps against Sehun. “C-can’t— breathe-” There’s a curse from someone above him, then a grunt, and then finally he’s able to pull oxygen into his lungs unimpeded.

Chanyeol groans as Sehun pulls out of him, rolling over to the side. “Gross,” he grumbles, when Sehun wraps octopus-like limbs around him, uncaring of the mess between their bodies. Chanyeol’s also lying on the wet spot, too busy until now to complain about lying on it this whole time.

“Gross,” he repeats, when Junmyeon chuckles at them before leaning down to kiss them both, his sticky-slick hands on their hips to steady himself.

“I’ll clean up,” Junmyeon says, his voice fond and raspy.

“As you should,” Sehun deigns to answer just as Junmyeon’s hauling himself off the bed. “You planned this after all.”

Junmyeon laughs this time, the sound as always, bringing tingles to Chanyeol’s ears. “I did, didn’t I?”

The success of all their dates and the evidence of their obvious compatibility doesn’t mean that they don’t butt heads, however. At the end of the day, they’re still three very different people, with three very different opinions in life.

Sometimes Sehun’s tongue is too sharp, Junmyeon too stubborn, and Chanyeol too prone to his insecurities. There are tense moments, unavoidable no matter how much they’ve come to care for each other. Or maybe its that they care as much as they do that makes their disagreements all the more painful. Their first real argument goes something like this:

Chanyeol doesn’t remember what started it, but either way the outcome is the same. He’s alone in the penthouse on the eve of their six month anniversary as a throuple, sad and horny, feeling sorry for himself.

He ends up sending a video. Chanyeol doesn’t know what possesses him to do it — longing, maybe? loneliness?—but he does. He just. Misses them so damn much. Didn’t realize how much he’d miss them until they weren’t there anymore.

So he sends a video.

He starts off with his cellphone propped up on the bedside table while he leans against the headboard, restless, hands clenching and unclenching in the cold emptiness of the sheets. The bed's too big without the two of them there and Chanyeol hates all the extra space, hates that he can spread his limbs any which way without bumping into one of Sehun’s equally long arms and legs, or being able to pull Junmyeon into an embrace. It makes Chanyeol ache, makes that restless feeling within him double and triple in size. It becomes an itch under his skin, one that ebbs only with the thought of their touch on his skin. Chanyeol inhales sharply at the memory of two pairs of hands exploring his body, two pairs of lips kissing at his mouth. It makes heat curl in his gut, arousal so sharp and heavy Chanyeol’s throwing off his shirt and kicking away his pants in an effort to get naked. He’s already half hard just thinking about them, but he doesn’t touch himself. No, he savors the feeling, just like they would, running his hands over his chest, blunt nails catching on his nipples. They become stiff, hard little peaks in no time, so sensitive that Chanyeol sinks into the pillows, arching his back as he moans when he starts to pinch them.

It’s not as good as Sehun’s mouth on him, or the scrape of his teeth. It’s nothing like Junmyeon’s teasing caresses, the warmth of his palms and the pads of his fingers. The memory is nothing compared to the real thing but Chanyeol remembers and that will have to be enough.

He moans, loud, and wants to make sure the sound is caught clearly on video. He runs his hands along his sides, down his hips and thighs. On the way back up he makes sure his nails catch on skin, and wants to feel the raised lines of angry skin as he repeats the motion of his hands.

He’s hard and leaking without even touching his cock, hot and bothered with only memories and the phantom feeling of other hands on his body. His hips roll, meeting nothing but air and he whimpers, heat flashing through him as he moves to grip his thighs, wanting to leave bruises for them to find and trace later. That thought has him rolling in bed, grabbing a pillow to stuff between his thighs and grind his hips against the softness. A long, low moan leaves him as he shifts onto his knees and grips the headboard in front of him. Pleasure is a hot wave that rolls through him once he starts a rhythm with his hips, rubbing his hard cock against the pillow. There isn’t quite enough pressure so he widens his stance, feels the burn in his thighs as he spreads his knees to find a better position. The pillow is no substitute for a warm body beneath him and it’s even more apparent when it does nothing to help with the emptiness inside. He wants someone to fill him, wants to bounce in someone’s lap while another licks at his skin and whispers filth in his ear.

He bites through his lip at the sheer want, tastes blood on his tongue and the empty feeling just grows. He rolls off the pillow with a frustrated and unsatisfied groan, flinging it across the room.

“Fuck,” he whispers, sad and lonely, and just a little angry at himself. “Fuck,” he says again, louder and directed at his cellphone, still recording. He feels a sob bubbling in his chest, throat aching against the will to suppress it. His eyes burn, wet with frustrated, angry tears.

He curls up on his side, facing the camera and glaring at his image on the screen. He looks a little crazy, hair messy and red in the face. The lighting is all off and he’s slightly out of frame but he moves in a little closer so that it’s clear when he takes himself in hand. He squeezes his cock at the base, fully hard now and weeping at the tip. He groans, ignores the way he wishes these were someone else’s hands. He jacks himself slowly, dry without lube but the discomfort is welcome, grounds him in the moment instead of getting lost in his memories.

This is an exercise only half about pleasure. The other half is about longing and regret, wondering why he’s here alone when they should be with him, together, right now. What had they even fought about? Chanyeol only sort of remembers, something about how he shouldn’t have said no, how he should have said yes when they’d ask him to come along to some event. All Chanyeol knows is that he’d been angry and jealous, hadn’t wanted to spend the night before their six month anniversary surrounded by other people. It sounds stupid, now that he’s had some time to think about it. The why doesn’t even matter at this point, only that Chanyeol’s sorry and he wishes that they’d both come home soon.

When he finally does come, it’s without his usually fanfare. He barely gasps, bottom lip caught between his teeth as the unsatisfying orgasm washes over him. His eyes are wet when he reaches for his cellphone again. He ends the video without saying anything else and hits send before he can lose his nerve altogether. It takes a few minutes for the video to upload and send completely, but there’s no way to take it back once it's sent.

Chanyeol cleans himself up lazily, changes the bed sheets and all the pillow covers. Its mindless work, just something to do with his hands and keep him pre-occupied until its finally time to sleep. When it’s all said and done, however, he can’t bring himself to sleep on the bed they share, the size of it daunting all to himself.

He dozes on the couch, for how long, he’s not entirely sure. Half the night is over when the sound of the front door rouses him from sleep, jerking him awake when it slams shut.

“Hyung?” Sehun stands at the entrance of the living room, looking exactly how Chanyeol feels. “You’re still here.”

It hadn’t occurred to Chanyeol to leave, not when home is no longer a place but two people to settle down with. He sits frozen for a moment, worrying about how he should reply. He settles for, “Where else would I go?”

It must be the right answer because that’s all Sehun needs to rush towards the couch, to Chanyeol’s side. It’s as much a declaration of devotion as the three little words Chanyeol has yet to say, even if he’s felt it like some wild thing in his chest, attempting to spill out of his mouth at any moment. Words are useless in a moment like this anyway, because it’s not the words themselves that are important—it's the intent behind them.

A little later, Junmyeon will come home too, rushing just like Sehun had when he finds them both huddled on the couch. There will be words at that point, sweet nothings and murmured apologies to go around. Chanyeol will muster up the courage to say the three words he’s been holding back since that very first date and they’ll repeat it back at him. They’ll ring in their six month anniversary in their big bed, as they should, having make-up sex and looking forward to the next argument they have because it doesn’t mean the end—it means another new beginning.

Differences aside, they make it work.

There’s no misunderstanding that can withstand Junmyeon’s level headed approach to any situation. Sehun’s blunt honesty and his scary ability to reach compromise is second only to Chanyeol’s sheer force of will—he’s too invested at this point to walk away. If he does, he’ll be leaving without ever being whole again, and no amount of Baekhyun’s mothering will fix his broken heart.

Chanyeol knows he’s in it for the long haul, and there’s no better way to express his intent than with action.

Chanyeol finishes cooking dinner early one night and decides to take a shower after. He passes by Sehun asleep on the bed, taking a nap after coming home from his dance class. He leaves a fond kiss to the younger man’s forehead on his way, just because he can.

While he’s in the bathroom Junmyeon comes home and joins him in the shower. “I could get used to this,” he says, wrapping arms around Chanyeol and leaving wet kisses up his back.

“You’re always welcome to join me in the shower.”

“No, I knew that.” Junmyeon’s hands trace the kind of muscle on his abdomen and Chanyeol melts into his embrace. “I meant more like coming home and finding you here.”

“I suppose you want dinner on the table every night too, don’t you?” Chanyeol teases.

“Just you being here is enough, dinner not included,” Junmyeon pinches a nipple in retaliation, making Chanyeol gasp and his knees go weak. “Have I told you yet today, how much I love you?”

Chanyeol makes an embarrassing noise, clutching at Junmyeon’s arms around his middle, heart pounding in his chest. “S-say that again.”

“I love you,” Junmyeon obliges readily, holding Chanyeol tighter against his chest.

“Love you too, hyung.” Chanyeol feels his face heat up, still not quite used to saying the words and meaning them as much as he does.

Junmyeon offers to wash his hair and scrub his back, all of which Chanyeol readily agrees to. Junmyeon’s hands are magic wherever they touch him, and Chanyeol would be a fool to say no.

Afterward, they wake Sehun for dinner, taking their time to pull their pillow princess out slowly from his sweet dreams. He insists on being carried out to the dining table, and then refuses to sit anywhere but in Chanyeol’s lap. He won’t lift a finger for dinner either, demanding to be fed. Junmyeon obliges of course, feeding Chanyeol a few times too. It’s so domestic and cringe-worthy—Chanyeol loves it so much.

Loves it even more when Junmyeon offers to wash the dishes since Chanyeol already cooked and Sehun says he’ll pay Chanyeol his dues in another way.

“Love you,” Sehun says, pushing Chanyeol down onto the bed. He straddles Chanyeol’s thighs and leans over him, kissing up sternum, eyes dark and full of unspoken adoration.

Chanyeol’s reply is lost under Sehun’s skillful mouth, but that doesn’t matter either. He’ll have plenty of other opportunities to say the words over and over and over again.

Love you, too.