1 Year Later

The sound of the door being unlocked makes Baekhyun flinch. The metal door slides swiftly as the doctor pulls it with his right hand. The doctor walks towards him with a smile and pats his back. Baekhyun smiles as he turns his face to the doctor. The doctor puts a bottle of medicine on the table in front of him and continue to pat his back, while squeezing it lightly.

“You’re free.”

Baekhyun shuts his eyes for a few seconds while holding his breath. This is it… Finally. He takes the medicine and stand up, facing the doctor, “Thank you.” The doctor nods slowly for a few times. Baekhyun takes his backpack, loading it with his iPhone, charger and wallet which are in a small transparent bag. He was about to zip his backpack when he saw something familiar.

His sketchbook.

Baekhyun takes out the sketchbook, looking at it for a while. He then zips his backpack, walking towards the door. Before he steps out of the room, he throws the sketchbook into the trash near the door. He didn’t look back; he keeps on walking. The doctor stares at the sketchbook Baekhyun has thrown just now. The doctor changes his gaze from the trashcan to Baekhyun from the glass walls. The doctor smiles to himself and walks out of the room when the nurses enter the room to clean it.

Baekhyun inhales deeply as he reaches the gate. The sound of vehicles and the smell of small vendors from the streets make him smile. Finally some fresh air. He looks up to the sky and his eyes cringe a little when he accidentally stared at the Sun. He chuckles softly and lets out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Byun Baekhyun.”

He frowns a little bit. He is wondering whether he is hearing things or is it really the voice of a person that he missed the most. He slowly turns to his right. ‘Jung Sarang.’

“Jung Sarang.” He voiced out, staring at her legs. ‘She’s walking… with a clutch.’

Baekhyun steps forward towards here slowly. His lips are twitching, not knowing what kind of smile he should give to her. He stretches his right arm out, reaching for Sarang’s cheek. Sarang shuts her eyes for a second when Baekhyun’s palm touched her cheek. Baekhyun changes his stare to a baby girl in Sarang’s hands. The baby stares back at him while on her right thumb.

Baekhyun smiles to her, “I-Is she…”

“Yes.” Sarang nods. Baekhyun’s smile becomes wider and he bends down to align his height with the baby’s face, “You… you’re very beautiful… Just like your mother.” He stands straight again and hugs Sarang tightly, “You waited for me…”

Sarang stares at him, “I told you that I’ll wait, right?”

Baekhyun nods vigorously while stretching his arms out, “Can I?” Sarang nods, “Of course.” She then hands Sera to her biological father. Sarang smiles a little, looking at the happy Baekhyun. “Hello Sera… I am your father.”

Sarang has to admit that her heart melts and she can feel butterflies in her belly, looking at the excited Baekhyun. The way he’s holding and planting kisses on Sera makes her fangirl heart sings.

“Where should I drive you to?” Sarang asks. Baekhyun stares at her and gives Sera back to her mother. “I’ll take taxi. I’m… going back to Zavia Breatan.” Sarang frowns, “What? Why?” Baekhyun shrugs and bits his lower lip, “I have no other place to go. I… the mansion is my only home. I don’t have any family members left…”

“But we are your family, Baekhyun.” Sarang says. Baekhyun nods, “Yeah… you. Sarang, I can’t be the leader of our family yet… Look at me, Sarang… I-I live in a place where no one knows existed. I can’t take you to a place that keeps many bad memories for you… for me…”

“Are you… leaving me?” Sarang asks with her eyes down. Baekhyun shakes his head and cups Sarang’s face, “No… no… no… I’m not leaving you… I’m not leaving Sera either. I love you and I love Sera very much. I can’t leave you.”

“What are you going to do?” Sarang asks. Baekhyun caresses Sarang’s hair, “I’m going to start my life over. Once I did, I’ll come back to you. I promise…” Sarang nods her head slowly, her tears stream down her right cheek quickly. She wipes it off and nods once again.

“Will you wait for me again?” Baekhyun asks. Sarang nods, “I will if you will.”

Baekhyun frowns and holds Sarang’s right hand, “Of course I will… I promise.”

“I’ll wait for you Baekhyun.”

“Let me take you home first, okay? How are your legs?” Baekhyun asks. Sarang shrugs, “Right leg, fully recovered. Left leg, still tingly.” It hurts for him to see Sarang holding their baby while her arm is supporting the clutch.

“You drove here?” Baekhyun asks while opening the black Chevrolet door. Sarang replies, “Yes.” Baekhyun scoffs, “It’s quite dangerous you know? Driving like… this…”

Sarang chuckles, “This is an automatic car, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, “I know… Who uses manual now?” Sarang shrugs, “My mother?”

He shrugs, “Sorry.” Sarang grins while chuckling silently and she looks out the window when Baekhyun starts to drive. Baekhyun keeps on glancing at Sarang and his daughter during the drive. Sarang turns her head to him and he quickly looks away. She looks out the window again and Baekhyun smiles, glancing at her once again.

Baekhyun pulls in to Sarang’s garage and pulls up the handbrake. “Thanks.” Sarang smiles. Baekhyun smiles back, “No problem at all.”

As they get out of the car and get inside the house, they are greeted by Sarang’s mother. Sarang panicks, “Hi mom.”

“Hi sweety… Hello there, who are you?” Sarang’s mother smiles. Baekhyun smiles and bows, “I’m Byun Baekhyun, Sarang’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Baekhyun-ssi. I’m Sarang’s mother, Jung Hana.” Mrs Jung grins. She then continues, “Have a sit, I’ll make you tea.” Baekhyun shakes his head, “It’s alright. I’m already leaving. Thank you very much.”

Mrs Jung shrugs, “Are you sure?” Baekhyun nods, “Yes Mrs Jung. Thank you very much.”

Mrs Jung flinched to the sound of honk. Sarang pats her mother’s shoulder and walks to the door, “That must be Yixing.”

Baekhyun swallows hard, nervous to the mention of Yixing. Baekhyun then excuses himself politely and Mrs Jung nods while smiling sweetly.

“Hi Yixing! You’re here for lunch?” Sarang laughs when Yixing grins widely, “As usual.”

“Hmm… I know. We can’t let our children be like her!”

Yixing and Sarang stare at the neighbour. Sarang sighs when she realised that her mother is listening with Baekhyun. Yixing looks at Baekhyun, “Hi.” Baekhyun replies, “Hey.”

“How could someone be so shallow? Pregnancy before marriage? Tsk!” The ahjumma rolls her eyes. Sarang knows that the ahjummas next door are pretending not to hearing them. Sarang’s mother was about to walk towards them but Sarang stops her, “Mom… mom… don’t.”

Mrs Jung shakes her head, “No way in Valhalla balls I’m doing nothing. Hey, I can hear you!”

The ahjummas look at her, “What?”

“I’m done of you talking about my daughter! Just stop it already yeah? You don’t know anything about her!”

“Aish, if she’s my daughter I would kick her out of the house.” The ahjumma says and the other ahjumma nods quickly, “Such a disgrace to a family!”

“Thankfully I’m not your daughter.” Sarang says calmly. The ahjumma grits her teeth, “Thankfully you’re not my daughter.”  

Baekhyun clenches his fists and wraps his arms around Sarang. Baekhyun smiles excitedly to the ahjumma while approaching them, together with Sarang. Baekhyun stares at Sarang, “We should have invited them to our marriage right?”

Sarang froze but smiles anyway, “Yeah…”

The ahjummas stare each other cluelessly. Baekhyun’s hand trails down to Sarang’s waist, hugging her tightly, “Darling, I told you to invite everyone to our wedding right? Look what happened if you don’t invite someone like them…” Baekhyun sighs fakely. Sarang smiles, “I forgot to put them on the list…”

Baekhyun sighs, ruffling her hair, “It’s alright. Ahjummas… I hope you can stop talking bull about my wife and my daughter.” Sarang looks up to him and their eyes met for a few seconds. Baekhyun gives a sweet smile before kissing her forehead tenderly. When Baekhyun pulls away, Sarang pulls him for a kiss on the lips. Baekhyun is quite shocked by it but then he smiles between the kiss.

Sarang pulls away and whispers, “I’ll see you again Baekhyun.”

Sarang turns around and walks into the house, leaving the others hanging in front of the door. Mrs Jung looks at Yixing, “What just happened?” Yixing looks at Baekhyun who’s waving at him. Yixing waves back, “I think you’ll get a son in law.”

Baekhyun didn’t go back to Zavia Breatan. He went to his old fancy apartment.

‘, I don’t have the keys.’ Baekhyun sighs but then grins. He steps backwards and smirks before he lunges towards the door, kicking it hard. Bang!

Baekhyun looks inside and smiles. ‘Still the same.’

“A little cleaning and door fixing, everything’s gonna look new.”

The next day, Sarang is surprised by Baekhyun’s second visit to her house. “I thought you’re going back to the mansion?” Baekhyun smiles, “I’m never going back there.”

Baekhyun holds her shoulders, "I'm not gonna wait anymore Sarang. I can't see you like this. I don't want anyone to talk bull about you anymore..." 

Sarang stares at him while frowning, “I... I don't know what to say.”

"Is that a new Audi?" Sarang asks. Baekhyun nods, "I got it yesterday... With a small loan of million dollars. My bank account." Sarang laughs, "I see."

Baekhyun locks his new Audi and fixes his black shirt. Sarang smiles, “You look like you’re interviewing for a job.”

“Well… I am. I have an interview with your parents.” Baekhyun says. Sarang frowns, “What?”

“Who’s at the do- Baekhyun? Come in! Sarang, why didn’t you let him in? aish, this girl.” Mrs Jung scoffs. Sarang grins, “I forgot. Come on in…”

“Have a seat. Coffee or tea?” Mrs Jung asks. Baekhyun answers, “Neither.” Mrs Jung looks at him, “Oh… Well… I… I’ll leave you two alone.”

Baekhyun stops her before she leaves, “Actually, I’m here to… talk to you and Mr Jung.”

Mrs Jung stares at him, “Oh… Okay… I’ll call him.”

Mrs Jung rushes upstairs and calls her husband, “Honey! I think Baekhyun wants to marry our daughter! Oh my, I’m so excited!” Mr Jung sighs, “We don’t know it yet. Well, that Baekhyun kid just meet us yesterday. We don’t know anything about him.”

“Yet, honey… yet!” Mrs Jung squeals. Mr Jung rolls his eyes, “Okay let’s just go down okay?”

Baekhyun stands up and bows to Mr and Mrs Jung, “Hello. I’m Byun Baekhyun, we didn’t get a chance to meet properly yesterday, Mr Jung.”

Mr Jung pulls out his right hand for a handshake, “Nice to meet you Baekhyun. I’m Jung Yonghae. Have a seat please.” Baekhyun smiles, “Nice to meet you too, Mr Jung.”

“So… What do you need from us?” Mr Jung asks. Baekhyun inhales deeply, staring at Sarang. Sarang looks down after giving him a one second smile. Baekhyun then let it out, “I would like to marry your daughter, Mr and Mrs Jung.”

Mrs Jung cups to hide her smile while Mr Jung just nods. “How long have you known each other?”

Sarang answers, “Three years.”

Mrs Jung gasps, “Three years and we didn’t know about him? Oh, dear…” Sarang nods, “Yeah…” Baekhyun smiles, “We thought we could be… just friends but then… I’m in love with her.”

Sarang smiles even though it’s a definite lie. Mr and Mrs Jung stare each other. 

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m an artist and also an entrepreneur.” Baekhyun asnwers.

"Where do you live? Do you live alone?" 

"One Residence Apartment. Yes, I live alone. I don't have any family members left anymore." Mrs Jung nods, "I'm sorry... One Residence? That's... fancy..."

Mr Jung nods, “Where did you meet for the first time?” Baekhyun inhales, “In a restaurant.”

Sarang looks at him. “She was alone that time so I greeted her and… give her a little company.”

“Can you accept Sera in your life?” Mr Jung asks. Baekhyun nods and smiles, “Definitely.”

‘She’s my real daughter…’

“Do you know what happened to her? You don’t think she’s a cheap woman who sleeps with random guys until she gets pregnant right?” Mr Jung asks. Baekhyun nods, “I know… Of course I know… I know everything that happened to her.”

Baekhyun stares at Sarang with a guilty expression. Sarang’s tears fall down her cheek unknowingly and she quickly wipes it off. Sarang’s tears fall again when Baekhyun holds her hand, “I know every single thing that happened to her.”

“I love her very much. I love you, Sarang…”

Mr and Mrs Jung stare each other and nod. Mrs Jung wipes hear tears and holds her husband’s hand. Mr Jung smiles, “When’s the date?”

Sarang and Baekhyun stare at the older man. “We’ll leave everything to you kids to decide what’s best for your marriage.”

Baekhyun grins, “Thank you… thank you very much…”

“No… Thank you, son.” Mr Jung gets up and walks upstairs together with his wife.

Baekhyun holds Sarang’s hand tighter, smiling to her. Sarang smiles back and gets up, “Let’s go to Sera.”

Sarang smiles to her baby girl who’s playing with her milk bottle, “Hey, you’re awake.”

Sarang lifts up Sera and gives her to Baekhyun. Baekhyun plants some kisses to Sera’s round cheeks and pinches her right cheek. “Hey Sera… Do you remember me? It’s me… appa.”

Baekhyun plants another kiss on Sera’s forehead, “You’re so tiny… Just like you umma.”

Baekhyun laughs when Sarang pinches his shoulder. Sera stares at Baekhyun, following his act by grinning widely. Baekhyun laughs even more, “You’re so cute…” Sarang cups while laughing, “She has your mole, see?”

Baekhyun nods, “Yeah… Yeah! I just realised that… You’re so beautiful Sera…”

Sarang crosses her arms, leaning against the crib. She smiles, looking at Baekhyun. He looks very attractive with his clothes and his attention towards a baby. His baby. Baekhyun stares at her and their eyes met. Baekhyun smiles to her, “I promise I’ll take care of you both. Cross my heart.”

Baekhyun pecks Sarang’s lips and looks at Sera again.

“I love you, Sarang.”

“I love you too, Baekhyun.”

And I would like to promote my new fanfix. click on the poster below, thankd!

Try it - read PROLOGUE