ext_93667 ([identity profile] damagea.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] writetomyheart2020-09-30 10:54 pm

[Team Four] All of me

Long time no see, HIMYM!AU! :D I was supposed to write something "short" and "totally random" but I ended up babbling, of course. Oh well! This one takes just before ~The Wedding~. The story and the plot mostly don't belong to me; I'm not even trying to pretend.


"Face each other here--" the young wedding reception employee with glasses instructed with a high-pitched voice while nervously fussing around Minseok and Boa, not exactly knowing where to stand or who to look at or talk to. The guy picked a tissue from his pocket and pressed it against his forehead to wipe the glimmering sweat away.

At first, Baekhyun hadn't been sure if he had found the situation amusing or annoying. But once it had started to look like they weren't even near finishing with the ceremony practice even after two hours, he had begun hoping the guy for disappearing into the most bottomless hole. And everyone else, thank you very much.

Too bad Baekhyun had promised to be his best friend's best man, so it meant that everyone expected him to suffer through the meaningless practice ceremony. Well, technically, Jongdae maybe was his best friend since the asshole had decided it by himself, but Baekhyun enjoyed seeing and hearing him whining when he threatened he should pass the crown on Minseok.

This time, though, he considered he just shouldn't have any friends because they tended to bring him into situations like this.

The ceremony guy explained something about the sitting order and how it mattered everything and basically determined if the marriage was going to be a happy one or not.

Why did even people want to get married in the first place when it only meant craziness like this?

Baekhyun was starting to be sure he would never call himself involved in such chaos. Not like any of his past failed relationships had been close even to the thought of marriage. He needed to tell Jongdae and Minseok to intervene if he ever started having such crazy ideas someday. Not like he would meet anyone soon in the future, considering how busy he was with work and no-one would ever—

"Rings!" the ceremony guy called loudly, and Baekhyun straightened his back immediately from the crouched position and was pulled out of his thoughts.

"Yes, yes," Baekhyun mumbled and stepped forward as he fished a small velveteen box from his back pocket.

The ceremony guy looked something between appalled and upset.

"Absolutely no back pocket tomorrow, that's the worst place ever to keep it, my darling! What if the bride's ring would get lost?! Do it again! We have no time for mistakes!" he exclaimed with a terrified face, shaking his head in disapproval.

Baekhyun could hear Jongdae tsking in amusement behind his back.

Baekhyun had to take a deep breath himself when he complied with the guy's order and sheepishly returned to his place.

What had he done wrong when deserving this life? First, he had been professor Kim Heechul's victim for listening to his constant whining in the bar after seminars and being bossed around for the past three weeks. And now wedding ceremony guys in glasses running him around like a puppet.

"Remember to smile, Baekhyunnie!" Jongdae cheerfully chirped when Baekhyun walked back to the couple and eventually tossed the little box into Minseok's hand. Baekhyun wanted to show him a finger but controlled himself.

Luckily, everyone's attention turned back to the wedding couple who were watching each other nervously yet disgustingly lovingly in the eye while holding hands tightly.

Baekhyun felt a little bit softer when he observed his friends from the side. Boa was a wonderful woman - beautiful, kind, and clever. Perfect for Minseok in all possible ways; they indeed were a great couple and were meant to be together.

To Baekhyun's exceptional luck, the ceremony guy suddenly clapped and informed everyone that they were done with the practice, and they should call it a day.

Baekhyun couldn't help but sigh from the relief; finally, he was free to go back to his room and go to sleep after such an exhausting day. Maybe play a little with his phone and take a shower before curling himself up in the soft sheets. At least there were some perks in staying in the hotel for the whole weekend.

He should have guessed that Jongade definitely wasn't willing to let him go that easily. Of course, he had to pat Baekhyun's back and proclaim that they would have drinks in the lobby bar.

"My treat!" Jongdae announced gleefully.

Even though he was trying to mask it was just a suggestion, Baekhyun knew his friend wouldn't give up before he and Minseok would agree.

"Come on, it's Minseok hyung's last night as a bachelor! Better to celebrate before the jail calls him!"

"Just for your information, I heard that!" Boa exclaimed, but she made no protest for Jongdae's suggestion about stealing her groom since after quickly soothing Minseok's hair, she just told him gently she would see him on the next day.

The hotel was small and intimate, mostly booked for different wedding parties, so it didn't take them long before they were comfortably sitting by the table of three and jingled their glasses together.

"To Minseok hyung and Boa noona," Jongdae declared.

"Thank you, this means a lot to me," Minseok smiled at them.

"Of course! Well, how are you feeling?"

Baekhyun took a sip of his rum coke (he grimaced a little bit at the bitter taste of alcohol) when the thought kind of hit him properly.

His friend was really getting married, and there they were, spending the last time together before Minseok would be a married man. And after that, nothing would be exactly the same ever again.

"To be honest?" Minseok said, his face suddenly becoming a bit more severe within every uttered syllable. "Maybe I can admit to you guys that I was totally freaking out yesterday. It was an absolute breakdown."

"But how come?" Baekhyun asked, sincerely confused and curious.

Minseok had never been the type panicking or losing his shit. Baekhyun's friend was calm and cool like a cucumber, even during hardships. Completely different from himself, Jongdae, or any other people who he knew.

And Minseok was totally crazy about Boa noona, and she was in love with him, no doubt of that. Sure, weddings and especially wedding ceremony practice sessions could make anyone crazy, but that probably wasn't the case there.

"I don't know," Minseok gave out a sigh, rolling the whiskey inside the glass thoughtfully. "I was just worried, you know? I started thinking, what if we're making a huge mistake here? What if we're just ruining everything good we've had and built together? What if this whole marriage will be a thing that only tears us apart?"

"Difficult questions indeed. Yet, you don't seem that worried anymore," Jongdae remarked.

Minseok shrugged. "True, because I'm not."

"What made you get rid of those thoughts then?" Baekhyun asked.

"Not what, but who," Minseok answered, and smiled sadly. "Sometimes, all one needs is a firm talk from someone one doesn't even know."

"I don't get it," Jongdae said.

"I was ready to escape," Minseok revealed but hurried to correct as he noticed scandalized looks on his friends' faces and soon realized how it might have sounded. "No, no, no, nothing like that! I'm not having an affair. And do not tell Boa; she wouldn't understand. The thing is-- I was so scared I was ready to leave this place and tell everyone the wedding is canceled. We'd be just fine together without getting married."

"But then what?"

"Well, looks like fate decided to send a savior to me," Minseok said, shrugging again. "It just might be hard to tell one at first. Sometimes they're tall, lanky wedding band guitarists who read your thoughts when you've ended up running and then stumbling and falling down thanks to the cord mess on the floor."

Jongdae burst into laughter. "Haha, so what did he do? Gave a heartwarming preach to you not to mess up with his music equipment and get the hell back to your room and bride?"

"More like something about taking risks and them being worth everything. Can't get anything good and special if you're not also afraid of losing it."

"Sounds cheesy," Jongdae mentioned. "But maybe that guy was right. Who was he even? Someone we could consider hooking Baekhyun up with?"

"Urgh, please." Baekhyun waved his hand and made a suffering expression. He wasn't in the mood for a conversation like that.

Jongdae's attempts to find a girlfriend for himself were already beyond bad and desperate, but it was even worse when it came to him trying to play Amor for Baekhyun. All blind dates set by him had ended up being either super awkward or just generally catastrophic in all possible ways.

"Come on, you're the best man!" Jongdae hollered way too loud for his own good since their table immediately drew attention from other customers who turned to shoot glances at them.

"You can't sleep with the maid-of-honor, unfortunately, since she's already engaged, but how about unwinding a little bit? You don't even know the guy, give poor one a chance! He's tall and plays guitar in a band! And is experienced with love because he already helped hyung! Sounds perfect for you!"

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long night before he could talk himself out of there.

*****

When Baekhyun was finally back in his room, he threw his jacket on the bed.

He was dead tired and sleepy for sure, but after spending practically the whole day inside and the entire evening in the stuffy bar, he knew he needed to have some fresh air before doing anything else.

Baekhyun slid the glass door open and stepped into the small balcony. There were only two modest-looking metal garden chairs, and based on their condition, it didn't seem like they were frequently used by former guests. Baekhyun sat down on the other and looked upon the dark sky while inhaling the fresh air into his lungs.

It was a cloudy night, so he couldn't see the stars, but the silence after all the fuss around him made his mind immediately wander.

Why was he stuck in his life like that? Minseok was getting married, maybe having a family soon, totally satisfied with his school PE teaching job. Boa noona had recently earned a permanent position from the kindergarten where she had been working past ten years. Everything was settled and good for them.

Meanwhile, Jongdae was single, but his career kept getting better and better, and he seemed to be one of the most successful lawyers around. Not like Baekhyun himself would give anything in his life to Jongdae's hands - the guy would get him into jail just for the joke for sure - but it would have been wrong not to admit he was doing his job well. Hell, Jongdae had even bought an apartment a year ago; that surely meant something.

And what about himself?

Baekhyun couldn't help snorting bitterly.

At school, he had been the popular kid, everyone's friend, and back then, his friends had predicted he would be the first one getting married and settling down with a kid or two.

Even after getting to know Minseok at the university, they had joked about Baekhyun having the most straightforward plans, both in love-life and career-wise. He had seemed to understand what he strived to achieve in life while everyone else was pretty much still stumbling and totally unsure which direction they should head towards.

And where was he now?

Doing short-term and seasonal temporary jobs whenever he had a chance. Desperately trying to graduate from his master's program.

Living in a studio apartment and eating instant noodles when he had no time nor money nor skills to cook.

Desperately going on blind dates set by Jongdae and trying to find someone.

To be honest, Baekhyun would just want to do stuff that all other couples did. Have someone he could joke with, someone who would understand his weird humor and hobbies. Have someone he could wake up with and kiss good night to. Have someone he could openly love and be loved by them in return.

Jongdae kept telling him Baekhyun was way too demanding when it came to a partner and that he wasn't trying enough. Minseok was much less frank (like in every situation) but had indeed implied no life with romantic love was guaranteed for everyone, but it could be a good life nevertheless.

The problem was that people he met or even tried dating tended to understand or predict him in the wrong way. Baekhyun was talkative, yes, but it always came as a surprise for them whenever he revealed he was more like an introvert by nature and enjoyed a lot being by himself at home. For surprisingly many people, that seemed to be an issue or a dealbreaker.

Not to mention, Baekhyun was famous for being able to screw up things with his big mouth too.

He grimaced at some memories.

Once, he had told after the first date to his companion that he loved him. Didn't end well. And last time, he had ended up asking questions about his date's flatmate instead of his date. Didn't end any better. Baekhyun had been subtly kicked out, without any dick or promises to meet again.

Abruptly, Baekhyun heard a faint voice coming from the other balcony next to his. It was a low voice, and then there were soft guitar chords accompanying the song.

Someone was playing a song in their balcony, singing to themselves.

It was a song Baekhyun didn't recognize. Only that it had English lyrics and a somewhat melancholic melody. At the same time, the music was soothing and gave Baekhyun a warm, familiar feeling, like a parent softly touching the cheek of their sleeping child.

He had a feeling he had heard the voice before, but he couldn't recall from where or how would that even be possible.

The other person probably had no idea that there was someone in the next balcony, and on top of that, the person surely didn't realize there was someone who was secretly listening in.

Maybe it was wrong and impolite, but Baekhyun couldn't stop harking every note.

'Cause all of me
Loves all of you


*****

"Hey, aren't you coming to bed soon?" Baekhyun mumbled, tiptoeing behind the stool and softly wrapping arms around his naked torso.

He smiled, corners of the eyes wrinkled as he looked over his shoulder, plucking the guitar on his lap.

"Soon," he said, "Just wanna play the last song."

"Okay," Baekhyun agreed and pressed a gentle kiss on his shoulder. "But then you'll let me listen to it."

"Deal."

Baekhyun must have heard his rendition of 'All of me' a million times over the years. Many evenings like this before they would go to bed, for instance.

But that performance, that first night he ever heard him sing; that one would always remain to be his favorite.




[livejournal.com profile] luciferxdamien, your turn!

[identity profile] elindar.livejournal.com 2020-10-03 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
AHH like i said on twitter already, it is soo different reading this now after watching the series XD and i realized it's been quite some time since the last part of this! so i'm glad you decided to continue it now. i think i actually need to go and re-read the earlier parts now with my New Knowledge of the show bc all the scenes and stuff will make much more sense :D

aww CBX the best buddies trio <3 it's so easy to picture them as a group that's been together forever and then they're the best men at each other's weddings ;;; like in here! i'm getting so many feelings from the setting, minseok getting married and bbh being his best man ;; and also him worrying all the time over himself and his life. :< (lol, i know the feeling bbh!)

and OH, a tall guitarist guy, how very curious!!! WHO COULD THAT BE XD but yay @ him talking minseok out of his doubts and worries! chanyeol fits for the role So Perfectly here it's actually a bit crazy!! EVERYTHING clicks so well :D and the whole himym story and ordeal is so great with all the small, amazing coincidences and Almost Moments up until the point where they actually, finally meet and it's just Perfect (when ignoring the original end...) so AAAH it's great to have it with bbh and pcy here <3

"Sounds perfect for you!" oh yes, again jongdae knows what's up! 8)

and aaaah the balcony moment!! it was so nice in the show, like one of the last ALMOST/so-close moments ;A; anddd it's that song! ;;; chanyeol's first official solo song, idc what anyone says. awwww chanyeol's deep soft voice singing and bbh listening to himmm
AND the ending ;__; yess @ pcy playing the same song for him years and years from now. (and i'm so happy that you clarified that in this fic, the ending is NOT going to be like in the show, though i was already hoping/guessing it wouldn't be.) they're sooo cute and perfect together, when they'll finally find each other! and it's getting closer *__*

like i said, thank you for continuing this, and i'll be waiting for next part and their paths to finally cross! ;;