Chapter #18:

             The Intimacy.

 Author Note:

Hey, Guys!

I know that you guys were expecting a jealous Baekhyun, but this chapter doesn’t have it. You guys will get what you want in the next one. It just didn’t set well in this chapter. Though, I am sure you guys will like this chapter a lot ;)

Bright rays of sun streamed inside the room through the cracks in the curtain; illuminating the whole room with a golden glow. Baekhyun who was sleeping facing the window scrunched his nose when the rays teased his eyes. With an annoyed groan, he faced away from the window and buried his face in the pillow. The sudden knock on the door followed by Kai’s annoying voice made the eldest grown under his breath again irritated; he lifted the pillow off his face and turned around to glare at the door.

“Baekhyun Hyung! Dad is calling for you, get up!” Kai shouted and knocked on the door again before walking away. Baekhyun was sure his brother would have annoyed him more if it was not for Kyungsoo who appeared out of nowhere again and dragged the tanned boy away. He let out an annoyed huff and threw his head back on the pillow before staring ahead of him. For a second, he was horrified to see a face covered with hairs in front of him but then he realized it was his wife.

Gosh- that actually gave me a heart attack for a second. I actually thought mom will cut off my …

He slowly reached out a hand towards Haejin’s face and brushed away the raven locks from her face with a fond chuckle. Gently tucking away the scattered hairs behind her ear, he caressed her cheek with his thumb while tracing her features with his eyes. There was so much going through his mind at that moment. He was still very confused about the happening of the last night; they were still fresh and vivid in his memory like it just happened a few minutes ago. He was not able to comprehend that why did he kiss Haejin out of the blue? Why was he being so emotional? Where did all those emotions come from? Why did he feel that way? Those feelings, they were so foreign to him and he found himself deliberately getting used to these feelings and emotions which scared him. It was so not him. He felt like he was turning into a totally different person; there was a huge change in him and he was not sure whether this change was for good or for bad. It warmed his heart. For the first time in a long while, he felt like someone else other than his family cared about him. He was slowly getting used to his wife taking care of him which scared him again. All these things were totally unplanned and uncalled for, but Baekhyun can’t help, but to think they were for good. He didn’t know what he was feeling and was certain, he won’t come in terms with them anytime soon, but he would try for his kingdom; at least that was what he told himself. He may never admit it but it was what he wanted from the start because deep inside he was craving for love; someone other than his family he could rely on—

“You are a monster!”

Haejin’s prior thoughts about him rang inside his head all of a sudden making him seize his thoughts. All the feelings and emotions that he was feeling turned into disappointment as soon as he remembered that Haejin was no different than other people. Baekhyun slowly pulled his hand away from her face and laid on his back, trying his best to ignore the feeling of emptiness that was gnawing at his insides. Letting out a sigh, he finally raised his body off the bed and made his way towards the bathroom. He knew that Haejin said it in past but those were the only thoughts of Haejin that he was aware of.

 “So...where are we going exactly?” Haejin asked and stared at the trees that were passing by her in blurs. This was for the second time after their wedding that she was traveling with her husband alone. This time, though, was completely different from the first one. Firstly, like the previous time, she hadn’t complained about going with him or being bored. Surprisingly, her brothers-in-law haven’t even asked her to come with them which was a surprise in itself. Secondly, this time their journey was way longer than before. It has already been three hours since they were on the road, but the distance didn’t seem to decrease at all. The fact that she had no idea where they were going wasn’t helping her at all. Shaking her head, Haejin stared at the road ahead of them before rubbing her cold arms. Baekhyun has decided to take a jeep with them instead of a car and hasn’t even bothered to inform her of the fact; that would explain why she was wearing a baby pink, sleeveless dress instead of something warm to protect her from the cold wind. Haejin sniffed slightly and rubbed at her red nose while glaring at her husband for being unfair.

He is dressed so warmly himself!

Ughh… 

“Were you not listening when dad was explaining?” Baekhyun asked and spared his wife a glance before changing the gear. Haejin shrugged her shoulders in nonchalance before unconsciously settling her gaze on his strong forearms that he has revealed by folding the sleeves of his crisp, white dress shirt. Her hands were itching to trace all the veins that were bulging out so prominently, but she knew better than to make a fool out of her own self; she was glad that her husband was so busy driving to notice that.

“I was busy playing with Vivi…”

“Of course, you were playing with that fur ball.”

“Why do you hate Vivi so much? He is so cute.” Haejin asked her husband a little bit perplexed and finally lifted her eyes off his arms.

“You don’t know anything.”

“Well, enlighten me then.”

“There is no need.”

“You always think that I don’t need to know anything that is happening around.” There it was; the thing that had been bugging her for the whole past week. She knew Baekhyun was smart enough to understand that she was not talking about his hatred towards Sehun’s dog.

“You’re so…so…ughh! I don’t even know what to call you anymore.” Her head snapped towards her husband again when she heard him scoffing scornfully. She can see how his hold on the steering and the gear has tightened to the point where his knuckles turned white. There was something that was bothering him and it has been there since the last week where they had shared their first kiss. Just when she thought that they were getting better, Baekhyun had started distancing himself from her again as if the kiss didn’t mean anything to him.

It didn’t feel like that, though.

“You can call me monster. You used to love calling me that.” Haejin stared at her husband stunned for a moment when she heard that before opening , but nothing came out. She twiddled with the fingers of her hands that were placed in her lap nervously and looked away when nothing came to her mind. The awkward and tense silence settled between them; it went to the point where she started feeling suffocated, but none of them spoke another word. She didn’t know what to say. It was wrong for her to label him with such a title when she didn’t even know who he really was, but Baekhyun hadn’t helped her in having a good opinion about himself earlier either. Now that she had seen who he really was; at least, to some extent, she knew she was wrong and it made her guilty.

“I am sorry.” She muttered after a long while of silence and didn’t dare to turn towards him to see his reaction. There was a silence for a short while again before her husband finally relented with a sigh.

“You don’t have to be sorry for the way you think about me. It won’t change anything.” It broke something inside her when she heard him uttering that statement with a practiced ease. It was almost like he had used the same sentence again and again; so much that now he was just tired of it.

Who are you and what have you been through? I don’t know anything.

Now that she thinks about it- Baekhyun knows almost everything about her, but she can’t say the same thing for herself. She knows nothing about him. Not his past…not even his present.

“It would…” Haejin didn’t know what came over her, but she was not able to stop herself from defying his statement. She gathered all the courage she needed and faced her husband hesitantly; who still had his gaze locked on the road with a stern expression on his face. He seemed surprised by her claim, though. It was written all over his face; he was waiting for her to continue which gave her a little encouragement.

“It would change a lot of things because I don’t think of you that way. At least, not anymore.” She mumbled the last part under her breath- wishing that he won’t be able to hear her, but who was she kidding. Baekhyun heard it and he heard it loud and clear. Sadly, though, she missed the small smile that graced his lips.

………………

“You won’t start sobbing like a baby again, would you?” Haejin stared at her husband confused for a moment when she heard that before finally realizing what he was talking about.

“Really?” She asked him incredulously, but couldn’t stop the grin that graced her lips after that.

“Yeah.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Not more than you.”

“Annoying!”

“I know.”

“Ughhhh…”

Maybe, just maybe things can actually work out between us.

……………

“I’m bored~” Haejin whined after thirty minutes of doing nothing, but to stare at the same trees that lined the sides of the road. It was too much to tolerate. Her husband was dutifully driving the jeep without even uttering a single word to her and she didn’t want to disturb him too because- duh! Who wants to die at a young age in a car crash?

“Can’t we call any of your brothers like last time?”

“They are an hour ahead of us.” Baekhyun deadpanned and raised an amused brow at his wife; who was now downright sulking.

I almost forgot that.

The rest of the Princes have left an hour before Baekhyun and Haejin because her husband had to attend an important meeting. In fact, they were headed to attend another meeting where all the important official members were going to gather. Being the new King and Queen, Baekhyun and Haejin were required to attend it; her brothers-in-law just decided to tag along for the fun of it. To be honest, she was really nervous and scared. Never in her life had she ever attended a gathering with so many important people. She was scared that she would somehow end up embarrassing her husband in front of them all. A sudden jolt from the jeep broke her chain of thoughts and she stared at her husband with eyes as wide as saucers.

“What-” Haejin started but was cut off when the jeep jolted again and came to an abrupt stop. She stared at the eldest as he turned the key in the keyhole to start the engine, but the vehicle just gave up on them after gasping for a while. Baekhyun muttered curses under his breath and threaded his fingers through his hairs roughly before throwing his head back; Haejin noticed that he tends to do that whenever he is stressed. She stared at her husband expectantly when he sat straight in his place, but frowned when he did nothing other than turning the key again.

Is he not supposed to fix the car?

“What?” The King snapped at her when he noticed the way she was staring at him.

“Are you not going to fix it?” Haejin asked him confused and raised a questioning brow at him when he refused to answer her. She stared at him for a long while before finally realizing- why her husband was not doing anything.

“You don’t know how to fix it, do you?” There was a smirk gracing her lips since it was the very first time, she was seeing her husband blushing in embarrassment.

“Psht! What kind of a man are you? You are of no use.” Ouch! A blow to his ego.

“No use?” Baekhyun inquired incredulously and turned to face her with a fierce glare.

“I was the crown Prince and now I am the King! Why would I need to learn how to fix a car? People do it for me.” He retaliated and scowled when Haejin made a show to look around as if she was searching for something.

“I don’t see those people here, my King.” She taunted and slumped back in her seat with a huff.

“Give me the tools. I will fix it.”

“You know how to fix it?” Her husband looked at her with an apprehensive expression; like he was not sure whether to believe her or laugh at her face.

“Yes, I do! Now give me the tools.”

………………

“Are you really sure you know how to fix this thing?” Baekhyun asked his wife for the nth time. Haejin had forced him to open the bonnet of the jeep so she could fix whatever the problem was. It has been fifteen minutes and he wasn’t sure whether their car was going to be fixed or not.

“Have a little patience, will you?” His wife grumbled under her breath and Baekhyun watched with an uncertain expression when she made a move to join two wires together.

“Hey, I don’t think we are—” Before the eldest can finish his sentence, the joined wires gave out a strong spark and caught fire while producing a loud sound.

“…supposed to join them.” He finished his sentence in a small, startled voice and snapped out of his shock when Haejin let go of the burning wires with a yelp.

“Move away!” He shouted in alarm and pulled her away from the fire by harshly tugging at her arm. Both of them looked around in the panic for something with which they can put out the fire, but couldn’t manage to spot anything. In the end, Baekhyun went towards the driving seat and pulled out a spare cloth before somehow managing to stop the fire from burning the whole engine. He threw away the burned cloth away in irritation before facing Haejin with an extremely dark expression on his face; which made the poor girl cower down in fear.

“What the hell were you thinking? I thought you knew how to fix this thing!”

“I thought so too.” Haejin provided helpfully with a sheepish grin while trying her best to avoid his gaze; damn her husband for being so scary. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at her before moving towards the bonnet. He pushed his wife away and stood on her place before opening the water compartment of the carburetors. It was empty.

“Even I knew that we were supposed to check it before anything. All we have to do was put some water in here.” He complained once he was done closing the cap and faced his wife with a scowl. He was not happy; not at all.

“What are you looking at? If you knew it then you should have checked it yourself before.” Haejin