Not Intended | CHANBAEK (BOOK I)

Final (1/2)

"Starting Over"

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For a while, Baekhyun was in a shithole full of denial. In a way, perhaps he had always been in a shit hole for the last two months or maybe from the moment he left the house. When Baekhyun woke up one morning and routinely ate his bland cereal, he looked around him and realized once again how he felt utterly lonely and empty inside.

Nugget was Baekhyun's company for the most part of his days, but even the clingy and chunky pup couldn't mend the void that Baekhyun felt. Replacing Luhan's place in the escort business had its perks. The hours depended on when Baekhyun wanted to work, and if he was good in service, Baekhyun would sometimes receive gifts from his patrons of the night.

However, spending a few hours of his night being a companion for someone else left Baekhyun without a companion of his own.

Bumping into Chanyeol was completely by chance. Running across a parking lot to avoid being touched was completely overdramatic, but the sense of fear that he had was unreasonably overwhelming. At the time, Baekhyun didn't know why, but once a few days had passed since his run in with his "former boyfriend", Baekhyun realized that he had been running in circles with his feelings.

Maybe he thought that all the feelings he had were gone after having isolated himself for a while, because it sure as hell felt like it. Chanyeol would pop up in mind sometimes, but the lack of those "sometimes" recently had led him to believe that he was moving on. However, the sudden run in at the opening party was like a cold bucket of water splashed onto his sweet dream, waking him up from his false sense of confirmation.

Running away and hiding hadn't done much to his heart apparently. The mere sight of Chanyeol proved that point. After wallowing on the thought for days, replaying everything that the giant had told him, Baekhyun came to the conclusion that the reason why he couldn't move on was because of the contract.

He could run away all he wanted, he figured, but he'd always have the papers acting as the one last string connecting him to Chanyeol and all they ever were. The question that Chanyeol asked him that night rang in Baekhyun's head for days, until one day he had to face it.

Why hadn't he annulled the contract before? Perhaps the reason was because it never crossed his mind, but that excuse was too farfetched. It wasn't as though he never thought about the contract. The papers were all he could think about for what felt like an eternity after he found out the truth. But even then, he never actually touched the action of going through with an annulment.

By all logical means, perhaps that was the key to moving on. It was the only tie that Baekhyun hadn't broken yet, but maybe it was the most important one to break out of them all.

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Baekhyun usually didn't like to dress up. The escort job required it, but that occupation held profit. Going inside his family's building to legally "break up" was another occasion, but Baekhyun didn't feel as though it was appropriate to show up on his family's doorsteps wearing a graphic tee and shorts.

Wearing the best cardigan that he owned, pairing it with a shirt of subtle color underneath, and jeans that fit like a glove, Baekhyun appeared on the front steps of the very building that he was destined to own one day—granted that he never gets disowned.

Walking with a strut that meant that he had business, Baekhyun strode into the large building, nodding to the doormen who greeted their boss' son with both respect and surprise as they pulled the double glass doors open. The squeaky sounds that his converse shoes made on the floor was a complete contrast to the sound of heels and formal shoes clacking around him.