I have been retweeting a lot of xiubaek recently, they're always fun!

My thoughts on them in 2024 are as follows:

They've journeyed over the years from really getting on each other's nerves to doing so for fun to becoming close during CBX. Then when Minseok came back from enlistment, he really needed and relied on Baekhyun when he did public facing work and I think Baekhyun thrived on that and on Minseok's company after a period of really having to do it all alone. Now that it's Baekhyun who's come back from his enlistment, we've seen them get even closer in deciding to pursue this lawsuit with Jongdae as well as form their own company together.

I think they've both reached a point in their relationship with each other where they can be more vulnerable and honest without getting defensive. Baekhyun's deep read of Minseok's insecurities and pushing him to be more confident would not have gone well in the past and we see an aborted, old reaction to that in Minseok's response being to immediately bring up a time that Baekhyun was vulnerable during the Paper Cuts performance at Magical Circus 2019. But he stops himself and ties it into a real and true response to what Baekhyun is actually saying by turning it into a compliment and saying that it made him realize how much Baekhyun really cares about him.

So now, 8, 9 months after that conversation, we've got them together with Jongdae embarking on a new label whose central goal is to explore new sides of themselves creatively and deliver more of that. It's something they all want and also what Baekhyun said he hoped Minseok would do with his next endeavour. I know none of us expected that Minseok would ever leave SM even to the extent that he has with CBX (ie still under exclusive contract, just with some extra clauses to allow for their label) and I don't think he would have without having a team around him. I think Baekhyun without a team to help him could have done it and would have been miserable.

So where do I think they are in 2024? I think they're the closest they've ever been and also that their relationship is deeply tied up in both of their relationships with Jongdae. I think they're honest and straightforward with each other and that they really trust each other. I think all the differences that existed between them that caused all the friction, also mean that they balance each other incredibly well and know how to be what the other person needs. Still, I don't expect that they'll stop teasing each other any time soon and I'm beyond excited for the next level banter we'll have about CEO vs mathyung and Minseok being so pleased they managed to stick Baekhyun with the CEO job so he didn't have to do it XD Also, they know they've got fans like me who love their shenanigans and flirting and we all know Minseok will be flirting with Baekhyun in front of our eyeballs soon while Baekhyun does his best to get back at him.

I love watching what we see of each of them together and I'm beyond excited by the fact that we should be seeing so much more of them together! They're always be one of my favourite ships, I basically ship every combo of cbx+yx and just really enjoy the friendships they all share so actually getting CBX back this year and as their own label is my definition of a dream come true. I hope well see an increase in CBX fic this year and I've already loved all the fan art we've gotten

I kind of feel like I've said a lot of nothing but I hope this is what you were looking for!