The Next Day . . .

Baekhyun sat in the waiting room, elbows resting on his knees and head clenched in his hands. He didn’t really want to be there, but he was willing to do anything to save his marriage. If he had to lay on a couch and cry, he would do it. Hell, he had been doing it anyway in the weeks since Taeyeon made him leave. Baekhyun was able to easily recall the look on her face as she screamed at him to leave. He had been sleeping on Jongin’s couch ever since.

“Mr. Byun Baekhyun?” A soft voice called. Baekhyun looked up at the blonde in the doorway and smiled stiffly. The two shook hands and Chaelin stood aside to let him walk in. He immediately took a seat on the comfy looking brown, leather couch. Chaelin grabbed another notepad and sat across from him, just as she had with his wife. She found that it worked best if she started from scratch with each patient, so she asked, “What brings you here today, Mr. Byun?”

    “My wife filed for divorce,” Baekhyun said in a strained voice. He kept his head and eyes down as he spoke.

    “By your tone, am I right to assume that this isn't something that you're okay with?”

    “No,” he responded immediately. “Not at all. I don't want this, but she . . . she does.”

    “I see,” Chaelin said slowly and scribbled briefly on her pad. “As you may know, I've already had a session with your wife, so I have her perspective on things. I'd like to hear yours.”

    Baekhyun looked down at his hands and swallowed thickly. “I don't want to lose her, doc.”

    “I can tell that by you being here. Please, explain to me why you think you're here, and why she would be seeking to dissolve your marriage.”

    “It's all my fault,” he whispered.

    “How so?”

    “It's my job. It requires me to be away a lot, to break a lot of promises to her. She's tired of being left alone. I left her alone for too long.”

    “And you regret that?”

    “Everyday now. She used to tell me it was okay and that she understood, so I didn't mind leaving when I had to. I didn't feel guilty about it. But now? Now I know that I should have looked harder at her when I was leaving the house. I should have really listened when she told me she was 'fine'. I should have turned my phone off when I did get time to be with her. If my friends invited me out when I was home, I should have told them no. I . . . I messed this up.”

    “You're . . .,” Chaelin looked briefly at her notes, “A singer in a group?

    “Yes, I am.”

    “Is that how you two met?”

Baekhyun nodded. “We were in the same agency.”

“I'm going to ask you a question, and do not take offense . . .” Chaelin waited for him to look up before asking, “during all the months away while touring, were you ever unfaithful?”

    “Never!” Baekhyun said immediately. Chaelin looked at him closely, trying to detect a lie. There was none to be seen.

    The doctor leaned back in her chair and rested her hands on her lap. “You sound sincere, Mr. Byun.”

    “I am sincere! My Taeyeon . . . she's the best thing that ever happened to me. I know what I did wrong, but she won't let me fix it. I want to fix this, doc.”

    “What do you hope to get from this counseling, Mr. Byun?”

    “I want my wife back. I'll do anything. Absolutely anything.”

    Chaelin observed him carefully, lightly tapping her pen on her leg. She believed believed Baekhyun wanted to save their marriage. She did not, however, believe that his wife really wanted out.

From what Chaelin would see, Taeyeon used the divorce papers to finally get his attention after years of being ignored. It wasn't that she didn't love her husband, she just wanted him to acknowledge her. Chaelin could help them, really help them. She had . . . ways . . . of making that happen. But she didn't like to use them unless she was convinced the relationship was worth saving. Baekhyun was trying, but his poor wife has lost the will to fight. The love was still there, though. Chaelin could feel it.

    “You are being honest with me about there being no infidelity, right?” Chaelin asked again. That was the one thing she could not work around. Hera had strong feeling about that.

    “Yes, Doctor Lee. I have never, and would never, cheat on my wife. She's the only woman I've wanted since the moment I met her.”

    Chaelin nodded in understanding. Again, she believed him. She also believed his wife when she denied that were any extramarital affairs on her end. Knowing what she had to do, Chaelin looked at the peacock on her wall before retrieving a pomegranate from her desk. She tossed it in her hand a few times before sitting on the couch beside Baekhyun. “Okay, Mr. Byun. I want you to think of one instance where you would change things if you could. One time in your marriage that you wish you could do over.”

    Baekhyun looked at her curiously, but did as she said nonetheless. He wiped his hand over his face and rested his chin on his fist. “I think . . . I think the most glaring was her birthday, three years ago. She shares a birthday with a board member of my company. So when his wife threw a huge party that year, I took Tae to the party with me. I told her that we would only stay for a little while and then go celebrate on our own. But I got caught up in conversations and drinking and left her alone most of the evening. She ended up driving us home,” Baekhyun admitted sadly. “I didn't even give her, her present until the next afternoon. I can remember her taking it from my hands and setting it down. When I left the next day, the gift was still sitting on the counter unopened.”

    “You think that might have been the turning point for her?” Chaelin asked for clarification. Baekhyun nodded slowly.

    “I don't think she ever forgave me for that. And I know it might not sound like a big thing, but it was one more instance of my thoughtlessness on top of all the others that preceded it. I don't think I even apologized.”

    Chaelin watched him turn his face away and discretely wipe his cheeks. With that, she was convinced. She cracked open the pomegranate and handed three seeds to Baekhyun. “I want you to eat those, close your eyes, and remember that night as clearly as you can. What were you wearing? What was she wearing? What do you recall eating that night? What were the decorations like at the party? Any snippets of conversation would be helpful. Was there any specific song that you remember hearing then? I need you to remember that night as vividly as possible, or this won't work.”

    “What won't work?” Baekhyun asked suspiciously as she grabbed his hands.

    “I'm trying to help you. Close your eyes and conjure up the memories. Do not open your eyes. Understand?”

    Baekhyun eyed her warily, but closed his eyes anyway. He was willing to do whatever it takes to get his wife back. So he let his mind wander back to her birthday, all those years ago. He could remember what suit he was wearing that night. He could see her clearly with her hair curled and pulled back. The navy blue dress she wore, how red her lipstick was that night, he could even recall the bag she wore on her arm. But even while he was so intensely immersed in the memories, he could faintly hear Chaelin murmuring words rhythmically.

    “Wh—” he began to ask as he felt his entire body heating up.

    “Focus, Baekhyun!” she commanded. Baekhyun snapped his mind back to the night three years ago. And then everything went black.

* / * / * / *