Although Se Ryeong had turned down his offer, Baekhyun insisted on sending her home and that was how she found herself in the passenger's seat beside him, listening to her favorite song on loop. Baekhyun was even humming along to the song and Se Ryeong wondered if he was naturally kind and considerate or if he only did it to maintain a cordial relationship with her. Meanwhile, Baekhyun doesn’t know how he knew every word to the song. He might have searched it up after Eun Byul let slip that this was Se Ryeong’s favorite song, but he hadn’t been particularly trying to learn the English lyrics. Either way, the ride was void of conversation, but comfortable.

It wasn’t till Baekhyun turned his car into her neighborhood did Se Ryeong realized she’d forgotten about her original intent to ask him about his mom. her lips nervously, she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject without seeming like a meddler. She didn’t realize she’d been twisting her fingers till Baekhyun slipped one hand into hers and laced their fingers together.
“My mom hasn’t seen the outside world in a while so I apologize if she’s a little unfriendly and distant. Being cooped up in the bedroom all day does no good for her illness really.” Baekhyun’s fingers curled around hers tightened as he tensed. “It makes things worse that she has a bad caretaker.”
“Have you considered changing her?”
“Aunty would just plant another one of her imbeciles.” Baekhyun scoffed. “She’d never let me hire someone myself. Even the maids assigned to clean my room are tasked to snoop around my belongings, which is why I have to keep everything important locked. I even password protect every single document on my laptop.”

Se Ryeong never imagined the extent of stress Baekhyun felt even in his own room until today. Her hold on his hand tightened and she rubbed small circles on the back of his with her thumb. “How about letting your mom live with us? As in oppa, Byul-ie, and the ummas. Oppa works from home ever since he started his own law firm and he’d be able to keep a close eye on your mom.”
“He already has to take care of Mama Zhang and HyunA’s mom. Besides, I’m not sure if I can even trouble you guys anymore considering how you’re sacrificing yourself to be my pretend girlfriend.”
“You make it sound like a torture being your girlfriend.” Se Ryeong clicked her tongue. “And aren’t you the one who’s always harping on and on about leaving the ‘fake’ out of our ‘fake relationship’ so others can’t tell it’s fake?”
“Touché,” Baekhyun chuckled. “Fine, even if I do agree, it’ll be a difficult task to get my mom out of the house without anyone noticing she’s gone.”
“What about bribing that lazy caretaker? Give her a sum of money to shut and pretend that your mom is still in the room. No one will notice since I doubt they actually go near that area of the house. We just need to find the opportune time to do it.”

Baekhyun pursed his lips