Jinah wasn’t even on the doorstep when the front door flipped open and a worried Soojin stepped out. The younger girl’s eyes were red and Jinah could only assume she had been crying. Luhan was quietly standing by the door waiting for her with that look Jinah hated seeing on his face.  

“His parents a-"

“You can tell me later,” Jinah interrupted stopping the girl, Jinah’s voice however remained composed and calm despite the fact her heart felt like it was leaping out her chest as it barged against her ribcage.

The trio made their way inside and maneuvered their way through the Byun household, Jinah took note of how awfully silent it was. She could only assume both of Baekhyun’s parents were out.

“He doesn’t want to speak, he won’t even open the door, I’m scared. What if something happened?” Soojin muttered softly and the pain was evident in her voice and all over her face. She truly cared about Baekhyun. She really did love him.

“Okay, for starters, have you two eaten?” Jinah asked. Soojin stared at her with wide eyes and a smile cracked on Luhan’s face.

“Really Jin, of all times you want to eat now?” Luhan asked, his voice wasn’t judgmental, he actually sounded quite amused. Jinah slipped her hand into her bag and pulled out some cash before shoving the bills into Luhan’s hands.

“Go down the block and buy something for us to eat.” She told him, “Bring Soojin with you.” She added. Soojin eyed her oddly and Jinah gave her a reassuring smile. Jinah knew what she was doing.

“Come on, you can’t help him if you're starving.” Jinah pointed and, “Plus you need some fresh air, all this worrying is not doing you any good.” Jinah added softly and Soojin nodded understandingly because she knew her unnie’s words were true.

The pair nodded understandingly before they left. Jinah waited until they were down the street and out of her eye’s view before she stepped out of the house, making sure to leave the door unlock because the two would be back soon. Baekhyun lived in a safe neighborhood and Jinah knew no one would be stupid enough to try robbing a house in the middle of the day.

She walked over to the side of the house, slowly treading through the snow.

Once she reached his window she rolled up her sleeves and tightened her bag strap around her shoulders. She stepped carefully through the thick snow until she was directly in front of Baekhyun’s bedroom window.

Easily she jumped and used her arms to push herself up onto the ledge of his window. Thankfully Baekhyun’s room was on the first floor and not the second.

It was like she knew him all too well. The window was open, freaking open. She smiled to herself because she knew he always opened his windows in the morning. She leaped into his room, or more like fell inside.

Once inside she searched around for Baekhyun and she saw that he wasn’t in his bed. Baekhyun was a teenage boy and his room wasn’t the most organized if you were an outsider, but Jinah knew that he organized everything in a way which he would understand.

His room revealed so much about himself, his love for music, his desire to compose, his duty to study, his affections for his friends. She could see it all just by looking at the objects and materials in his room and she felt like she was overstepping her boundaries by knowing all this.

Slowly she saw his scrunched up figure curled up in the corner of the room. Her reflexes brought up over to him. “Hey Baek.” She whispered sitting next to him. He was curled up in a ball, his arms pressed against his knees and his face fell in his arms.

She avoided touching him because she knew that Baekhyun hated to be touched when he was pissed off.

Baekhyun’s head moved a bit and that was confirmation enough that he wasn’t well…dead, he was alive at least.

Jinah didn’t know the situation and she regretted stopping Soojin from explaining earlier, but now she had to just go with her guts.

“Your father loves you, you know that.” She stated matter-of-factly. Baekhyun noticeably flinched and slowly he lifted his head up from his arms. He didn’t look at her, he didn’t even face her, but she knew he knew she was there, and she knew he was trying to gather up his thoughts into tangible words.

“Really? If he loved me so much why would he cheat on my mother?” He rebutted and the situation made sense to Jinah. Baekhyun was upset because he found out about his father’s affair.

“That’s a funny thing isn’t it?” Jinah mumbled and a laugh escaped from . Baekhyun finally turned his head towards her and stared at her with angry eyes. She was really laughing in his situation?

“It’s not funny Jinah.” He hissed and they both knew this. What Baekhyun couldn’t understand was what Jinah found so amusing she could actually laugh.

“How’d you find out?” She asked trying to gain more information.

“His mistress showed up at our doorstep last night, at three in the morning. After she revealed everything and my mother went into total rage, they argued, they fought, and they left.” He explained sadly.

“I want to tell you I’m sorry, but that’s not what you want to hear right now is it?” She asked, but he never replied, so she kept talking. “You feel betrayed, and angry, and disappointed, because he’s your father, and he was supposed to be the person that protects you, because that’s what fathers do.” She commented.

“I can’t believe this could happen.” Baekhyun groaned shaping his hands into tight fists. Jinah didn’t say anything back right away because she knew he didn’t want her to say anything back. Like she told him before, you don’t even need to say anything, just be there. Sometimes comfort is enough.

Finally she decided to break the silence knowing that Luhan and Soojin would return soon.

“I laughed because I thought it was funny,” She explained, “Our parents are just as messed up as us. They act like children, when we’re the actual children.” She commented bitterly remembering the dreadful look of jealousy her mother threw at her the night before.

“That’s just the thing Baek, they are children, we’re all children and we will mess up eventually, it’s evitable.   The only thing to do is prepare the ones you love for the impact, and prepare yourself for the impact” She explained.

“When’d you get so philosophical?” He teased trying to lighten the mood, but she could tell he was having a difficult time. It wasn’t easy for Baekhyun, and Jinah knew this, and she knew he would prefer to pretend, even if it was just for the moment, that everything was okay.

Jinah scoffed and childishly punched his arm. He faked a look of pain before a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes.

Oh no, she knew that look. She didn’t have time to prepare before he attacked her with the pillow that had magically appeared out of nowhere, or maybe it was there all along.

“Baek, stop!” She shouted as he smothered her, she pushed him away and grabbed a pillow from his bed before aiming it in his direction. Laughter broke out between the two as they entered an age of carelessness. They laughed like idiots while they fought with pillows like five year olds.  

Here they were, two almost grown adults, and they were fighting like children with laughs escaping their throats, but that didn’t matter because at this moment only one thing processed through their mind. Happiness.

The soft knock on the door broke their fight. The room was a bigger mess now since they used the random things in Baekhyun’s room, like the desk chair and his drawer as shields to block each other’s attacks.

“Jinah-ah,” Luhan called loudly. “Are you in there?” He asked. Jinah threw a quick look to Baekhyun and the pain slowly reappeared on his face.

Jinah stepped towards Baekhyun, the closer she got the closer she got to never letting him go. The closer she got the more she wanted to wipe that frown off his face. The closer she got the more she wanted him.

His eyes clashed against hers and he was mentally telling her that he wasn’t ready to open that door. Outside that door wasn’t just Luhan, his good bubby, and Soojin, the girl he was in love with, but everything else. It was his father’s affair, his mother’s heartache, the consequences that could follow his father’s actions, the affects that can change their entire lives.

That door was the last barrier between him and the world.

Jinah seemed to understand this perfectly, because she knew him inside out.

Quickly she lifted the pillow in her hand and hit his head gently.

“What was that for?” He asked quietly making sure Luhan and Soojin didn’t hear, it didn’t matter, Baekhyun’s door was thick.

 “It’s going to be okay.” She reassured knowingly and he was questioning how she could be so sure.

As if she was reading his mind she answered, “I’m not.” She mumbled honestly, “However I can tell you that I’ll be here with you, because we have too much to lose, and so much to gain.”

She gave him that reassuring smile that only she could give, the one that made him think nothing could go wrong. He wasn’t sure how many times he’s seen it before, but he knew the moment he saw it that just like that, Jinah made him feel like he was strong enough.

He slowly walked to his bedroom door. He grabbed the doorknob, and slowly and hesitantly he turned the lock. He wasn’t sure though, because he was scared of letting everything in. 

“Oppa, are you okay? Open the door.” Soojin’s sweet voice pleaded. Baekhyun paused for a second before he realized that everything would be okay, and he knew why.

He opened the door and instantly Soojin jumped him, welcoming him with her familiar, warm hugs. “Oh god, I was so worried about you.” She mumbled, her voice muffled by his chest.

Baekhyun patted her head, his fingers brushing through her silky hair as he whispered apologies to her.

“How’d you get in?” Luhan asked as he leaned against the doorframe. He and Soojin had been begging Baekhyun to open the door for a whole hour before they decided to call Jinah. They stepped out and went to the store for ten minutes and Jinah already managed to get inside the room.

Jinah had a knowing grin on her face as she answered, “The idiot doesn’t close his windows.” She told the two causing Luhan to chuckled.

“God, you’re so stupid.” Soojin pouted lifting her head away from Baekhyun’s chest.

“I know, I know.” He said kissing her forehead lovingly.

“We were worried.” She told him, apologizing.

“I’m sorry, about your father.” She whispered to him, and her words quickly reminded Baekhyun of the current situation he was in, he didn’t realize that Jinah hadn’t said those words, not because she didn’t want to, but because those were the words he didn’t want to hear.

He hushed her and pulled her closer, “I know everything will be okay now that you’re here with me.”

It was going to be okay because of Soojin, he was sure of it. She made everything better, she made it okay for him to get through the day.

Sadly for Baekhyun, he didn’t notice the small, but evident frown that crossed his best friend’s face before she quickly masked it away into a playful comment, “God, you two are so mushy.” Jinah groaned.

For Jinah however, even her excellent acting skills couldn’t mask the look written all over her face. The look that spelled pain.

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