The Unsaid Words
His Father
chapter one
the unsaid words
"I'd rather blemish that white paper with written words, then tainting my mouth by saying it."
Unbuckling her seatbelt with shaky hands, Hyejoo stared at the building in front of her- The Police Station.
This is it. She'll finally find out if her first love still lived, or has deceased. The tears threaten to fall, yet she held it back. The anxiety of 'what ifs' swam inside her head, causing it to throb with pain.
"Take a deep breath, Hyejoo. Just... breathe." Assuring that she wouldn't cave into a messy pile of tears, she headed out of her car, towards the awaiting result.
January 2nd, 2012
"Hyejoo-ah."
The smooth, and alluring voice called out to the said female, causing her fingers to halt in mid-air, as she averted her gaze from the blinding computer screen to the male that stood infront of her.
“Oh! Baekhyun-ssi, sorry, I didn’t real-” She was cut off by the man’s warm smile.
“It’s fine. I’m glad you’re working hard, but-” his eyes skimmed over the bags beneath her eyes that continued to darken. Even her skin turned into a slightly paler hue.
“Remember to rest, hmm?” Even though it was a simple act of consideration, her heart felt fuzzy, and giddy. Was it because the words came out from someone as handsome as Byun Baekhyun?
Or perhaps, she was finally accepting the fact that she was indeed infatuated with the Byun’s heir.
“Ah-- I-I will. Please don’t worry about me, sir.” She gave a curt nod, excusing herself silently, her fingers resumed its previous work, typing the document that needed to be handed in, in a few hours time.
Click, click, click…
Her usually nimble fingers slowed down- Hyejoo could feel his piercing gaze, as if he was drilling a hole through her head with his irises alone.
Hesitantly, Hyejoo tilted her head upwards, wanting to assure if the presence she was feeling was indeed his- and she was right. Baekhyun cleared his throat as soon as their gazes lock, his fair skin flushing a slight pink in embarrassment.
“S-sorry. I- er-- I was wondering if you’d, maybe, perhaps.. well, it’s up to you, but I think you should-” A grin curled itself upon her lips, as she watched him fumble with his words.
No charismatic, confident Mr. Byun, just a young man in his early twenties, Byun Baekhyun. She found it cute- very cute.
“Baekhyun- ssi, I.. don’t really get what you’re trying to ask,” Hyejoo replied sheepishly. The male straightened up, his previous emotions being composed.
“I wanted to ask, would you like to join me for lunch. Don’t worry about the margin that needs to be handed in, I can hand it over to Hongjae. He is an expert in the company’s economy and stocks, I don’t think it’s something he can’t handle.”
The female stared at her boss, unable to decipher what he said. It wasn’t the explanation on whether Hongjae could handle the proposal or not- it was the fact that he had asked her to lunch. She was merely an assistant, and the proposal was her first step to getting promoted.
To have such an honor of eating lunch with none other than the CEO was a complete surprise. Even his P.A hadn’t gotten the privilege to dine upon the same table as he.
“Y-yeah.” Only when her answered had popped out of did she realized how informal it had sounded. Shooting up from her chair, Hyejoo gave a deep bow in gratitude.
“I-I mean, yes. Thank you, Baekhyun- ssi. I’d love to have lunch with you.” His infamous rectangular smile stretched onto Baekhyun’s face. It was a sight, to see the always composed Hyejoo being in such a state.
“I’ll just- um, yeah let’s go, then.” The female kept her head down, not wanting to meet her CEO’s eyes as she passed through, but before she could lead him out to open the door, a hand caught her by the wrist, making her eyes widened in shock.
Hyejoo’s head snapped towards the hand that had sent tingles down her spine, she knew who it belonged too, yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
“B-baekhyun- ssi..” Before another word could be spoken, a low chuckle was heard as Baekhyun moved his hand lower, capturing her petite one into his larger, more wider hand, and intertwined their fingers.
“Let’s go, Hyejoo-ah.”
At that moment, she realized how it felt to be loved. To be cared. To be treasured. And she wanted to thank him- but how? Peering up at him, a small smile curved onto her lips.
‘Thank you, Byun Baekhyun.’
“Ms. Kim.”
“Ms. Kim?”
“Ms. Kim!” Hyejoo jumped off the armchair, the sharp voice snapped her out of her reverie.
It was one of those moments again. That moment when a certain moment, which in the past had made her heart flutter, broke her heart now.
“Yes! T-thats me.” She stood up straight, straightening her pencil skirt from its creases.
“Please follow me, Ma’am. Sorry for the wait, Detective Wu was busy with another case. He’s back now.”
Hyejoo brushed it off with a smile, as she trailed behind the man suited up in a police uniform. Her heart was pounded in her ears, sweat began to perspire, and her hand had turned clammy.
Today’s result will affect her life- and her son’s life.
“Here you are. Detective Wu will join you shortly.” Hyejoo seated herself onto a black leather armchair, facing the broad, polished table that had files and papers clustered above.
Her eyes skimmed the contents, wanting to distract herself from turning into a mad woman from the anxiety that was eating her up.
“Sorry if I kept you waiting.” She turned her head slowly, meeting the tall figure that entered through the doorway.
“It’s fine, I’m glad you made your time for me Kris.” The said man gave a small nod, and gestured for her to sit. Hyejoo placed herself at the edge of her chair, her nervousness taking over her as she awaited for his next words.
“So… we have some good news, and- well, more bad news.” She gulped the lump, but nodded, urging him to continue.
“Let's start. We-urm..we found Baekhyun, Hyejoo.” Her heart lurched forward, as her hands began to tremble in her lap. ‘Was he alive? Where is he now? Is he safe-’
“I’m sorry, Hyejoo. He’s… gone.”
The world around her dissipated, her jaw clenching tightly at the news. It was a surprise she didn’t break apart and started wailing, but inside- her heart broke into a million pieces.
And it will never be able to be pieced back together.
“We found his..” The male his lips, unsure of how to bring forth the horrible news. “We found his ‘remains’, and the pathologists did autopsy- they assured us that it was him.”
A strangled sob escaped her chapped lips, her hands clenching into fists as she looked away- unable to bear the embarrassment of having someone see her this way. She could hear the male sigh, as if he was guilty, but it wasn’t his fault- not at all. He was merely the messenger.
“Here… I thought you might want it. It’s kinda burnt, and it stopped working- but, for safe keeping…” Kris trailed on, sliding a clump of metal in a ziplock plastic bag.
Hyejoo looked up, her eyes a salmon pink from holding back the tears threatening to spill at any second. It was the golden rolex, his name engraved underneath it.
Baekhyun always wore it, without fail. And Hyejoo had grew accustomed to seeing it there, wrapped around his pretty wrist. A tear slid down her cheek, as her shaking hand reached forth to grasp it.
“Thank you, Kris. I-I’m glad.. you found out.” Her words came out as choked whispers, as her eyes laid upon the cursive name printed upon the object in her lap.
“His funeral is in 1 week time, I’m sure you’d like to know.” The female simply nodded mindlessly, all energy drained from her body. If anything worse was said, she was sure to fall limp.
“And.. Hyejoo.” Kris’ voice came out soft, very gentle compared to his usual authoritative tone.
“Y-yeah?” Only now, being curious as to why he changed, had she looked up. The male’s hands clenched and unclenched, as if he were nervous towards what was coming next.
“Baekhyun, he-- I mean, you--” It was such a rare thing, Kris Wu stuttering. He was always the person to be straightforward, not beat around the bushes. But Hyejoo understood. He was trying to be careful- to not simply spout out something shocking to an already shaken up woman.
“Just spill it.” Could it get any worse?
“We found out Jaehyun’s father. It’s him- Byun Baekhyun.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, her jaw dropped open the slightest. It felt as if time slowed down.
Words weren’t able to form, yet she had so many things to say.
‘Why did he?’ ‘What cruel fate was this?’
‘I hate you. I hate how I love you so much, yet you ruined me.’
And finally, the tears came tumbling down.
author's notes
-- Aaaand it's finally up! You guys I can't thank you enough! A chapter hadn't even been put up yet I received 19 subscribers. I LOVE YOU ALL <3 /showers you all with my sarang/ Sorry for taking a while.. a long while. I'm traveling here and there, it's pretty tough. But I'll definitely make time! Remember to COMMENT, UPVOTE AND SUBSCRIBE! O U O
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