10080 | Chanbaek

part ii.

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The house had to accommodate what Chanyeol thought Baekhyun needed for his line of work: peace and serenity. They found a small but perfectly quiet estate out in a spaced-out neighborhood out near the country. When Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun and asked, "What do you think?" he already knew the answer.

"I love it."

Smiling, Chanyeol took Baekhyun's hand in his. "Then let's get it."

Looking up at his husband, Baekhyun looked a bit worried. "But it's an hour away from your work."

Chanyeol shrugged. "If you love it, then I don't mind the commute. It's not impossible to commute back and forth."

After a while, Baekhyun asked him again if it was really alright. Chanyeol nodded and, soon after, the papers were signed.

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The arrangement was for Chanyeol to travel back and forth from work, but as time dragged on, work began to pile and pile, causing Chanyeol to work overtime. As the endless cycle continued on, he found it hard to commute on a daily basis. He often found himself tired and blurry-eyed when driving. Because of this, he had to drink caffeine before driving, which would either cause him to crash during work or make him unable to sleep once he arrived back at home.

Baekhyun began to feel guilty for enjoying a quiet life while his husband labored to give him that type of lifestyle. Contemplating about other alternatives, Baekhyun came to one possible solution to the problem.

"Chanyeol, maybe you should get an apartment in the city," Baekhyun gently suggested at the dinner table one night. When he raised his head, he saw tired eyes looking back at him.

"You want me to get a what?" Chanyeol said, sounding like he was in disbelief.

Baekhyun gave him a concerned look. "I don't enjoy seeing you like this. Every day you go to work looking like you're half dead. Then when you come back, you end up looking worse. I understand that your workload isn't exactly light. On top of all of that, your boss asks you to work overtime and--"

Chanyeol rubbed the corner of his eyes; his mood was waning. "Babe, I'm fine."

"No, you're not!" Baekhyun argued. "Listen, an apartment could mean—

"I said I'm fine, Baekhyun," Chanyeol repeated in a tone that indicated that he was done with the conversation. "Stop worrying, damn it."

Baekhyun grew irritated at Chanyeol's indifference. Setting down his utensils, Baekhyun stood up from the table.

 "Well, is it wrong to worry about you?" he cried in a strained voice.

Unlike Baekhyun, Chanyeol kept himself in his seat. "Baek, sit down."

With closed fists, Baekhyun glowered. "No. You're not hearing me out. I just want to help you."

"Help me?" Chanyeol snapped. "No, Baek. Having you try and pitch the idea of me getting a separate place to live just makes it seem like you want me gone." 

The lack of sleep and the fact that he had been overworking himself did no good other than making him more irritable.

Taken aback, Baekhyun looked shocked. "That is not what I want!"

"Keep your voice down," Chanyeol growled. "Do you really need to yell right now?"

Frustrated, Baekhyun harshly pushed his chair in. "I don't want you gone. Why are you being so frustrating? You know that I love you, so it hurts watching you add two more hours of stress onto your day just traveling back and forth." 

Chanyeol said nothing.

Baekhyun bit his lips. "It hurts, Yeol, but you don't see it because the moment you step into this house, you fall asleep. You don't even look at me anymore because you're that tired."

For a moment, Baekhyun waited for a response, but Chanyeol remained static. Then he muttered, "You're being overdramatic."

Baekhyun felt struck.

It was obvious that there was no reaching Chanyeol. His husband refused to listen to him and even had the outlandish audacity to call him out for being "overdramatic" when in fact, he was just expressing his concerns. 

Shaking, he turned and left the table before Chanyeol could see the bitter tears forming in his eyes.

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tbc 5/22/20