Chapter #22:

     The Suspicion.

The first half of the ride back to the castle from the hotel they were staying in was quite boring and uneventful. Unlike when they have arrived at the district, Baekhyun had decided to take a driver with them this time around which meant there was no privacy and no childish banters like they always have because they have a reputation to uphold in front of the world. The young queen was not happy with her husband’s decision. Surprisingly, he had also refused to take the jeep which they have been using throughout their whole stay; another thing that caused Haejin to scowl unhappily because she was completely ready for another fun ride. In the end, she just decided to let go of the matter because her husband’s decision on taking the car instead of jeep might have to do something with the fact that it was predicted to rain really heavily and he didn’t want an unfortunate repeat of the events.

It wasn’t that unfortunate in the end, though.

Okay, this was her ert mind speaking, don’t mind it. They were exactly three hours into their journey when things started to get tensed. Haejin was quietly sitting on her side of the seat while gazing out of the window when her husband’s phone rang for the first time. Surprised by the sudden noise, she turned her head to face Baekhyun; who seemed equally surprised by the disturbance. She watched on with a slightly curious gaze as he hastily reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his phone. Haejin guessed it to be one of her brothers-in-law – most likely Suho – calling to do a check up on their condition; given the fact that last time they had managed to get themselves stuck in the wilderness. She expected him to roll his eyes in annoyance or even let out a small chuckle because his brothers were being stupid, but what she didn’t expect was the way his face went completely stoic.

Not his brothers.

Her curious eyes shifted down to his phone to take a peek at the name of the caller, but her husband moved it out of her sight even before she could take a single glance. Letting out a silent sigh, she lifted her gaze back up to Baekhyun’s face; who was still looking at the screen of the phone with furrowed brows. It was almost as if he could feel her burning stare on his face because the very next second her husband was staring right back at her with a raised brow. She merely shrugged her shoulders in response and turned her attention back to the view outside- or at least she pretended to. Haejin assumed that whatever conversation he was going to have with the person on the other end of the phone was not supposed to be heard by her; that was the only reason that she could think of when her husband decided to reject the call. From his stance and actions, it was clear that he knew whatever he was going to be informed of was not good; almost as if he was dreading it. It looked like whoever was on the other end of the call wasn’t happy with her husband’s decision to ignore them because after a moment of silence his phone started ringing again.

What’s wrong with him?

Baekhyun thought to himself in an agitated manner when he saw Minjoon calling him once more. His bodyguard had left the district with other officials after the first meeting because he had assigned him some important tasks and jobs. It seemed like whatever he had to say was important; otherwise, he would have never called for the second time. It was kind of an unspoken rule between them, but still, he was reluctant to pick up the call. He had noticed his wife’s curiosity earlier even though she had tried her best to pass off as nonchalant. By now, he had known her enough to know about her curious personality. It was cute, but in situations like these, it was fatal. Finally letting out a relenting sigh, he accepted the call and placed the phone next to his ear.

“Baekhyun!” Minjoon exclaimed with a relieved sigh before hastily continuing.

“Look, I know you are with Haejin at the moment, but this is important. You don’t even need to say anything just hear me out, okay? I would have never called you in the first place if it was not important.” Baekhyun just let out a small hum as an acknowledgment while keeping an eye on his wife through his peripheral vision.

“Some guys tried to break into our hideout where we have kept Mr. Jung and other two prisoners; two guys to be exact.” Baekhyun’s body went rigid as soon as he heard that. Of course, that was going to happen. He should have seen it coming; actually, he did see it coming. That would explain why he had asked Minseok for help. He didn’t want to, but his bodyguard has involved his brothers (the ones who are mature enough to know the delicacy of a situation) in the matter without his consent. The King couldn’t exactly do anything because his brothers were not five-year-old kids anymore. He can’t stop them if they want to be involved; no matter how hard he tries it’s going to be a waste. Plus, he may not admit it, but it was nice to have some burden lifted off his shoulders. It gave him some time to breathe and think properly. So overall, it was not a bad thing and nothing bad was going to happen as long as he keeps his brothers away from the main danger; which meant the direct contact with anyone from that foundation.

“They were there to dispose of the two guys we have caught after Mr. Jung.” Minjoon continued making Baekhyun release another sigh. It was obvious that it was going to happen. Those guys were of no use to the foundation and could be titled as the potential danger to its safety if they ever opened their mouths; which Baekhyun was going to make sure they did.

“What about him?” There was a moment of silence before his bodyguard finally figured out- who he was talking about.

“From what I assume, Jung was going to be rescued. Baekhyun, we need to move fast.” Minjoon warned in a slightly panicked tone which made the eldest furrow his brows once again. His bodyguard was right. They need to get all the information out of their prisoners fast since the enemy has started to take action once again.

“Do they know about it?” He asked gruffly and stared out of the window; his mind already conjuring up ways to solve all the problems at hand.

“The guys who were going to be disposed of have witnessed everything. But Mr. Jung didn’t. He may have a suspicion that something happened though.”

“Great. I will be there.” Baekhyun didn’t wait to hear what his bodyguard has to say before he disconnected the call. He blankly stared at the screen of his phone for a long moment of silence completely immersed in his thoughts before raising his head to gaze at his wife; who was doing the same thing. Awkwardly, clearing his throat, he played with the phone in his hand and slumped back in his place.

“What?” He finally asked when he deduced that Haejin was not going to stop staring at him.

“Is everything alright?” Her voice was laced with a genuine concern which Baekhyun assumed was due to his weird behavior that he has displayed just now.

Way to go Baekhyun.

“Yeah.” His answer was chipped which caused Haejin to press her lips in a thin line; so they were back to these one worded answers again. The way Baekhyun turned his head to face the window again told her that she was not going to get any more answers from him and she found herself respecting his wish just for the time being. She can always ask later when they get home. There were very few chances that her husband would tell her anything; which right now was reduced to zero because of the presence of the driver. Releasing a sigh of defeat she faced the window on her side too and willed herself to stop thinking about everything that happened just now.

Were they talking about those people who attacked me?

Everything after that went in blurs. Haejin had expected her husband to drop the matter and sit back in silence like he had done the whole journey because there was nothing that he could do; they were after all in the middle of the freaking nowhere, but her husband proved her wrong once again. She didn’t even get to comprehend anything before her husband was calling Suho and instructing him to wait for them ahead. She was starting to feel really uneasy now and the flashes of the time when her husband had gotten severely injured while he was gone about his business flashed in front of her eyes; those images alone were enough to scare her to the roots. She wanted to ask him about what was going on. She wanted to stop him from whatever he was going to do, but like always she knew he was not going to tell anything to her; it was frustrating. Haejin was startled out of her thoughts when their car abruptly came to a stop. She lifted her head up to gaze outside the window and finally noticed the black car that was parked a little ahead of theirs. 

“Haejin, I need you to go home with my brothers.” She snapped her head towards Baekhyun with a frown when she heard that and gave her husband a confused look.

 “Why?”

“I have to attend some business and I can’t take you with me.” Her husband didn’t seem fazed by her question at all as he explained himself and opened his door.

Not like you take me to any of your business!

“Come on! I am in a little bit of a hurry.”

“But-” Haejin started to protest, but Baekhyun didn’t wait to hear her response and was already out of the car. She pressed her lips in a thin line when her husband closed the car’s door and hesitantly stepped out of the car too. It was either Baekhyun didn’t notice her discomfort or he had just simply decided to ignore it; knowing his extremely observant personality, she knew it was the latter one. She didn’t want to be one of those extra clingy wives, but she seriously didn’t have a good feeling about all this.

“Hurry up!” Her husband urged as he made his way towards the driver seat of the car his brothers were occupying and knocked on the window. Haejin slowly made her way towards the car too and was already standing by her husband’s side by the time Xiumin rolled the window down- she would assume that he was the one driving the car.

“Is everything alright?” It was Suho who asked the question while peeking from the passenger seat.

“Yeah, everything is fine. Can you guys make space for Haejin? I have some work to do.” Baekhyun explained while wetting his lips and peeked inside the car to have a glance of the back seat.

“Yeah, we are just four people in this car. I’m sure Jongin and Lay won’t mind adjusting Haejin in the back seat.” Suho replied with a shrug of his shoulders and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that his brothers were okay.

“We won’t mind. Noona~ come on inside we can play with Monggu on our way home.” Jongin beckoned his sister-in-law to get inside the car with an excited grin on his face which caused Haejin to chuckle. She would never get bored of Sehun or Jongin; they always have their dogs to keep her entertained. Giving her husband a final glance, she opened the door of the car and reluctantly got inside; she still couldn’t shake off the nervous feeling that was gnawing at her insides and was starting to slowly get irritated by it.

I am being stupid. It’s not like it’s the first time he is ever going to work. What the hell is wrong with me?

“Is that all?” She focused her gaze on Xiumin; who was looking at her husband with a hard expression. Haejin had a feeling that he knew about the business that her husband was going about and was not happy about it at all.

“No. I want you to come with me. My driver will drive them home.” Now everyone’s attention was on Baekhyun. It seemed like everyone except her knew what was going on and it frustrated her to no end. She was the only person in this whole situation who was completely clueless. She didn’t know why Baekhyun married her, they all did. She didn’t know about those people who attacked her, but they did and now she didn’t know what was happening, but they all did. She felt like crying and confronting her husband about it, but it was not the right moment.

When will the right moment be?

It was true indeed. When would that moment come when Baekhyun would finally explain things to her? She was starting to get impatient and it hurts her to think that her husband doesn’t trust her enough to share anything with her. She watched on with conflicted eyes as Baekhyun’s driver replaced Xiumin’s place and they drove off leaving the two brothers behind.

“Noona?” Haejin shifted her attention towards Jongin; who was looking at her with a vary expression.

“Hmm…”

“Are you alright?” He questioned in a hesitant tone which seemed to pull her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, why are you asking?” It was only then when she noticed that Lay and Suho were staring at her with concern too.

“You are crying…” It was Lay who answered her question instead of Jongin. Haejin immediately brought her hands up to touch her cheeks and was shocked when she felt her fingers becoming wet. She was crying indeed. She was so lost in the chain of her thoughts and sorting out her conflicted emotions that she didn’t even realize the moisture escaping her eyes. Letting out a nervous laugh, she quickly wiped away her tears and fixed her gaze on the back of the driver’s seat.

Well…this is awkward.

“Oh- it’s because of the dust. You know, the wind was pretty harsh when I exchanged cars. Something must have flown into my eyes. Don’t worry.” She meekly made an excuse and tried her best to give a convincing smile to them; which did not seem to work at all.

Oh- Who am I kidding?

“They are going to be alright.” There was a long moment of silence before Suho spoke up and gave her an assuring smile before turning around to face the road once again. Haejin cleared awkwardly when she heard that and simply nodded her head in affirmation to let him know that she understood him. Heaving out yet another sigh, she gave Lay a small smile and faced Jongin who was busy adjusting his dog’s position in his lap.

“Won’t you let me play with him?” She asked in a teasing tone and softly cradled her fingers through the dog’s fur.

“You can play with him all you want. Monggu really likes you.” Jongin replied immediately with the shrug of his shoulders and handed over his pet to her.

“He likes you better than Baek hyung.” He continued with a cheeky smile and grinned mischievously when everyone in the car started to chuckle; slowly dissolving the awkward sphere around them.

“I guess, Baekhyun is not good with dogs after all, huh?” She inquired while playing fully the dog’s ear and sent Jongin a playful wink which made the latter snicker once again.

“He used to have a dog too,” Jongin explained after he was done snickering and smoothed out his dog’s fur once again. He seemed to enjoy doing that a lot and Haejin was not going to put in question why because Monggu’s fur was so soft.

“Really? Where is the dog now?” Haejin was truly surprised by the new information. Who could have thought that her husband once had a dog too?

“He lost it during the war when Jihye umma di-”

“Jongin!” Suho cut in immediately before Jongin could finish his sentence. Heavy silence blanketed the sphere around them once again as Haejin curiously eyed her brothers-in-law. Jongin looked like he had accidentally committed a huge crime and with the way Suho had reacted; she knew that the latter was not exaggerating his emotions. It seemed like Jongin has innocently revealed to her something that he was not supposed to; which indeed was the case because-

Baekhyun’s mother died in a war?

Moreover, was it the war that took place seven years ago? It makes sense since it’s the only war that happened in her span of life. For as long as she could remember, it was the only war that happened. She didn’t know the exact details since she was just a fifteen years old girl and not interested in all the political clashes going between the different Kingdoms, but she knew that it was the Exo Kingdom against all the other Kingdoms. She also knew that her father was the one to lead that war and that they have lost. Other than that, she had no idea about what happened during that war. Now that she thinks about it- she didn’t even know why that war took place; whatever the reason was, this war played an important role in her life. It would explain why there was always so much threat to their castle. It would explain all the security and last, but not least it would explain the peace alliance. In one way or another, that war plays a very important role in their marriage too and Haejin can’t believe that she was ignorant enough to never think of it that way.

Is my dad responsible for the former Queen’s death?

That thought scared her because if that was true then she would always be the daughter of his mom’s killer to Baekhyun no matter what excuse she makes. If her father was the reason behind the queen’s death then there was nothing that she could do about it. She would always remind her husband of his mother’s death.

But it’s not my fault.

It was not. She didn’t know her father was going to do it and even if she knew still, there was nothing that she could have done to stop him. He was a ruthless beast who was hungry for power; he always has been. Haejin knew that thinking about all this stuff was useless because Baekhyun and his family have welcomed her in their house warmly from the first day. They have never shown hostility towards her which meant that they didn’t blame her for it. Heck! She could bet that her in-laws could already tell that her father was anything, but loving towards her.

“Are you guys talking about the war between our Kingdoms?” Haejin voiced her question out reluctantly into the tense atmosphere of the car. Her inquiry didn