Minji looked towards the door and Baekhyun ducked out of sight.

“She’s perfectly safe,” Junhyung said, startling him from behind.  “He’s too weak to do anything, even if he wanted to.”

“Right,” Baekhyun said, easing down into a chair beside Tao and Minzy.  He knew he was overreacting, but the need to guard Minji was intense.  He strove for a calm demeanor.  As he released a breath, the door opened and he shot to his feet and rushed to Minji’s side.  So much for appearing calm.

“Are you ok?” he asked, cupping her face in his hands and wiping at the tear stains on her cheeks with his thumbs.  She smiled and covered his hands with hers.

“Yeah.”  Minji pulled away to look at the rest of the group in the hall but kept Baekhyun’s hand in hers.  These friends, old and new, were so precious to her.   Her smile wobbled a little and she looked down.  Thank you all for supporting me.  She felt her hand being removed from Baekhyun’s and looked up to see Minzy grasping it instead now.

“I’m stealing her away for minute, ok boys?”  Moments later they were in the garden behind the hospital.  Minzy pulled her along to a stone bench placed in the shade of a tree and released her hand.  “So are you really ok?”

“I am.”  Minji toyed with her fingers and looked Minzy in the eye.  “Since I know you are going to ask until I tell you everything, I’ll just tell you.”   Minzy listened sympathetically as Minji relayed the whole of their conversation.  Her heart ached for her friends and what they had both been through.   “So, what do you think?” Minji asked, finishing her story.

Minzy held her friend’s hand once more.  “I think I am so proud of you.  Of both of you, really.  But, Min?”

“Hmm?”

“You really should talk to Baekhyun about all of this.  About Zico. . . and about Minhyuk.”

Minji looked at her friend with wide eyes.  “What if he. . . I don’t want to lose him. . . OWW!”  Minji massaged her shoulder.

“I didn’t hit you that hard.  But come on, you can’t just not tell him.  If he is going to be in your life, he deserves to know.”

Minji stopped rubbing her shoulder and nodded.  “I’ll tell him.”

*               *               *

“Jagiya.”

Minji felt Baekhyun’s arms wrap around her from behind as he straddled the bench and sat behind her.  She spun around, throwing her arms around him as well and buried her face in his chest.   His embrace tightened. 

“Is everything ok?  Minzy told me you needed to talk to me.” 

She eased back from his embrace and looked him in the eyes.  “I need to explain some things to you.”  He nodded and Minji blew out a breath, gathering her courage.  “Years ago, I moved here with my father.  He got a new job and we had to move here.  I didn’t mind because my dad was the best.  He always took care of me and treated me like a friend as well as his daughter.  One day while he was at work, he collapsed.  He hadn’t even been sick before, but he had a heart attack and died before I could even get to the hospital.”  Baekhyun reached out and grabbed her hands in his, but didn’t say anything. 

“It killed me.  I’d only been going to my new school for about a month and it hit me hard.  I skipped classes and picked fights.  It was a really dark time for me.  That’s when I met Z.  She was in my class and she made it her personal duty to save me from myself.  She made me eat lunch with her and invited herself over to my place all the time.  At first I was annoyed.  But somehow she brought me out of it and I was so grateful to her.  I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her.  I started attending all of my classes again and stopped picking meaningless fights.

“Then one day we were out getting ice cream and we walked passed this group of street dancers.  They were amazing!  And there was this guy in the front I couldn’t take my eyes off of.  He finished dancing and looked directly at me and smiled.  And I accidently spilled my melted ice cream down the top of my uniform.”

“Z knew exactly why I had been so distracted.  She couldn’t stop laughing and pointing in the boys’ direction.  I was so embarrassed I turned and ran.”  Minji chuckled at the memory.  “It turned out that the boys actually went to the same school as us.  The guy I had been watching introduced himself to us the next day.  His name was Minhyuk.”  Baekhyun recognized the name, but remained silent, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

“He started hanging out with Minzy and me.  We became inseparable.  Over time, our relationship developed into something more and the two of us started going out.  He would pick me up every day for school on his motorcycle and walk me to all of my classes.  He always looked out for me.  Minhyuk was my friend, my boyfriend, and my family.  I loved him more than I had ever thought possible and he loved me too.  I guess that’s why he asked Zico to take care of me if anything ever happened to him.  Minhyuk wanted to know that I’d always be taken care of.  I thought it was silly at the time and actually forgot all about it. 

“A couple years later, Minhyuk was in an accident.  A car hit him while he was on his motorcycle.  I got to the hospital as soon as I could.  He. . . didn’t make it.  Before he died, he told me he loved me and made me promise to be happy.”  Tears were welling in her eyes.  “Even with his last breath, he was worried about me.”

Baekhyun pulled her against his chest once more and comfortingly caressed her hair.  “It’s ok.”

“But that’s not all,” she continued, speaking to his chest, but still loud enough he could hear every word.  “After he died, Zico never left my side.  They had been like brothers and he took his promise very seriously.  He did his best to cheer me up and it worked somewhat.  Eventually, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I accepted.  I liked him better than the other guys around me and I didn’t want to be alone.  I did some things I’m not proud of.  I started fighting again, but only occasionally.  I didn’t pick fights, but when they came to me I didn’t back down.  And. . .”  She paused for what seemed like an eternity.  “And I was intimate with Zico.  I wanted him to be happy and I just missed Minhyuk so much.  Even though it didn’t mean a lot to me, it meant something to Zico.  I’m really sorry and I’ll understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore.”

Baekhyun didn’t say anything and so she started to pull away once more.  His arms tightened and she stilled, waiting for him to speak.

“Is that what you think of me?  That knowing you have been in love before and that you had an intimate relationship with Zico would make me not want to be with you?”

He loosened his grip and lifted her chin up to make her look at him.  “You listen to me.  If anything, I want you more.”  Minji held her breath as he leaned in and gently kissed her lips.  It was a simple kiss meant to comfort and Minji felt something in her chest click, like she’d found the missing piece of a puzzle. 

Baekhyun looked her in the eyes once more.  “If all those things hadn’t happened to you, you wouldn’t be the Minji you are.  Minhyuk and your father would be so proud of you.  Just like I am.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say. 

“Thank you for telling me,” Baekhyun said and pulled out a handkerchief.  “Now wipe those tears away or Z will wipe the floor with me when she comes out here.” 

Minji giggled and took the cloth, her heart suddenly lighter than it had been in a very long time.

Wow guys, sorry I yet again took so long to update.  This part was actually a lot longer but I cut it down.  ^^  I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!  You are all amazing!  ^^

Also, I didn't have much of a chance to edit this so please be forgiving of any errors!  ^^