I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. I ate it quickly and grabbed a jacket, some shoes, and left the house. "Yuri, I'm going out for a walk! I'll come back soon!" I yelled right before I closed the door.

The snow had touched everything. The trees had fine outlines of white snow bordering their branches, and it was freezing cold outside even though the sun was shining bright and clear. I loved this kind of weather; it was so fresh and pure, with the cold biting at my nose but the sun warmed my skin also.

I felt a buzz in my pocket. My phone rang with a painfully familiar ringtone, and I was afraid that if I didn't answer, I would have to listen to it forever. "Annyeonghaseyo," I said to the native English speaker.

"What the hell does that mean, Nicole?" he yelled on the other side.

"Why are you calling me? We broke up, you idiot," I seethed. He laughed loudly.

"You're being such a , you know that?" Brent said. I rolled my eyes at his amazingly stupid remark.

"Why are you calling?" I growled in a low, threatening voice.

"Stop talking like that or I'll fly over to South Diarrhea-"

"KOREA, YOU -UP!!"

"Whatever the it's called. I don't care. I'll fly over there and hit you again, and I know you don't want me to do that. And you know I would, ," he stated. I obeyed, even though I know he wouldn't do it. Brent could have such a convincing tone of voice that I didn't stop to think about if he would.

"Good girl. I see you're following orders. And I'm calling to tell you that I've changed my mind and you can come back. I've forgiven you," he said.

"But I want to stay-"

"You're going to come back, Nicole. Bye," he responded, terminating the call. I didn't want to go back, though. I couldn't take it that I had to clean everything up, be abused by him, and only earn money for him to drink. I didn't get much food, money, and I had to pay for everything myself. It was like living with a little brother that didn't do anything except mooch off of my money and drink beer with his friends every night.

But he loved me. He'd hug me whenever I cried and he would ask what was wrong, and he would kiss me whenever I was exhausted, and he would listen to my problems and help me with them. I felt hot tears spilling against my cold face, and I covered my mouth with utter disbelief. How could everything go so wrong?

Before I could control them, my feet were pounding against the ground as I ran back toward the house. No, I didn't want to go back to the house, where unnie and Baekhyun would see my tears. I whirled myself in the direction of my dear frozen lake, where I sat on the log next to it  and buried my face in my palms.

"I can't go back," I bawled. Brent was the only one that listened to me, but he was also the one to swing at the side of my face. My hand crept up and touched the bruise he had given me. It still hurt, but less than it did when it arrived. Wait. No.

Baekhyun listened to me. He hugged me when I cried. He talked to me sweetly. His hair was wavy and sort of in a chocolate brown color, and his eyes were so unexplainably perfect. I didn't know what it was, but the dark brown accent in his eyes, surrounded by smooth and tan skin was just that kind of irresistible. And that smile.... There were not enough words in every language on Earth to describe it.

"Nicole?" And whenever he said something, my heart flipped. "Nicole?" I quickly realized that his voice was actually there, not just in my head. I got up and turned around to a concerned and puzzled oppa. I whimpered. "Nicole, is there something wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked, coming closer.

"Baekkie..." I whined. He came even closer and wrapped his arms around my body. I hadn't had a real proper hug until now; the other times, he was behind me. I reached around and locked my against his back while I hid my face in his jacket. His hand gently smoothed out my hair.

"What happened?" he asked. I cried at the very thought of the call. I knew Brent couldn't do anything if I stayed, but he was the only guy that loved me back.

"My ex-boyfriend called. He says I can go back to him. But I can't, because that jerk takes my money just to drink and he makes me clean up his mess. He loves me, though...." I sobbed.

"That's not love. If he's nice to you, he only wants something from you. Or he's thanking you for the stuff. And then he'll throw you out again," he said. 

"But he needs me to come back," I said.

"Only for him to use you as a punching bag again, hmm?" Baekhyun stated. I didn't respond; I just kept crying into his shirt. He understood and rubbed my back with the hand that had my hair. "Shhh, it's okay. Don't cry. After all the bad stuff passes, it'll be like it never happened°. Then you don't ever have to talk to that guy again," he said.

Baekhyun made me feel wanted, like it was all Brent's fault. He made me feel so at ease that a smile found its way onto my face. But he wouldn't see it, because I was still hiding my face in his chest. The only safe place I knew now.

"Oppa, how do you know all these things?" I asked quietly, pulling my head away from his warm chest. He smiled at me, but his easily-read eyes said that he was sad.

"My parents. Hyo Min used to tell me that 'don't cry and all the bad stuff would go away eventually' thing, using my exact words," he replied sadly. He still thought of her, and he still loved her.

I don't know why, but it broke my heart.

________________________________________________________________________________

°EXO's lyrics to Baby don't cry, paraphrased a little :)

Hey guys! I hope you like this fluffy update. You don't know how happy I was when I was writing this. It was really cute ^-^ This will be my last Nicole chapter until I choose to give you guys another. Do you guys like her pov? Like always, subscribe, comment, and upvote! Hashi Konata Fighting!