CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

 

It was a bright Saturday morning at the late Mrs. Wu’s old home, decorated tables were set up in the backyard, buffet tables were on the side and a big ice cream cake was situated under a tent, on another side of the place was a pyramid made of wineglasses filled with champagne. The atmosphere was lively, adults conversed here and there while the children played along the many attractions set up.

 

“This is a nice party you have” Song Mingguk says as he looks around and Aiden grins brightly, “Thanks!”

 

“My parents throw me a party every year too! But it’s never like this; my mama says that it should be a quiet one and I have to act prim and proper because I will be meeting business partners”Sarang says. Aiden blinks his eyes then shrugs as he puts up another lego “Mama and papa said that I should enjoy my day, it’s only once a year after all” he explains.

 

“My mama said that your mama is really lucky to marry your dad” Daehan --Mingguk’s brother- tells Aiden and the boy grins again in pride “I know, right? Dad said it’s be cause my mama is the most beautiful woman he’s ever met!”

 

Leo snorts, “There’s no such thing. My dad said that he married mom because of work”

 

“My dad too!” Lauren says. Aiden puffs up his cheeks in a pout and replies, his frown grows a little deeper feeling a little upset about the way his friends were talking about his mom. If they only knew how beautiful his mom was inside and out then maybe they would think twice; why should he believe them though? He knew his parents much better than these people, he just wishes he could understand their way of thinking. As he was about to retort, a hand lands on his shoulder and he looks up to see his uncle Kyungsoo smiling down at him.

“Time to blow your candles, buddy. C’mon, your mom and dad are waiting”

 

Aiden purses his lips together and decides to save his breath, with a polite smile he excuses himself from the group and goes with his uncle. The two slowly walk together across the garden towards the tent where the guests had started to gather, “Hey uncle...” he looks up at Kyungsoo.

“Hm?”

“Did mama marry dad because of his money?” his cruious eyes twinkle at his uncle as he awaits an answer. The question somewhat catches Kyungsoo off-guard and it makes him raise a brow in confusion, what was up with him? Why would he suddenly question the marital ties between his mother and father? Kyungsoo looks at him and answers, “No. Your dad married your mom because he loves her” “My friend said that mama used to be poor...” he trails off and Kyungsoo could feel the uneasiness in the child’s voice so he stops for a moment and bends down to Aiden’s level, he looks the boy in the eyes and holds his shoulders firmly “Listen,” he says “You can never buy love even if you had all the money in the world and your mom gave that to your dad for free; whatever others may say about your mom and dad, don’t listen to them because your mom and dad love each other too much and you are the result of that, okay?” Aiden smiles and nods his head “Now, should we go and blow your candles now?”

 

Aiden grins and releases his uncle’s hand, racing towards the canopy tent.

 

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Aiden ~ Happy Birthday to you"

Applause follows the joyous singing and the newly-turned three year old boy blows out the candles on the cake. He grins widely as he turns to his mom and she gives him a soft kiss on the forehead, wishing him a greeting and it is followed by his Dad, who ruffles his hair and wishes him the same. His uncles soon follow after while the rest of the guests start to eat the food that had been prepared for lunch, Aiden hops off the chair that he had stood upon and runs towards his parents before they could go back to entertaining the other adults. He hugs his mom’s legs and Hana looks down at him in wonder while he flashes a bright smile, “I love you, Mom!” he says. Hana laughs in awe and picks him up from the ground, “I love you too, baby” she kisses him on the cheek and afterwards accepts the snuggling kind of hug that the boy gives him.

 

Kris pouts, “What? None for me?”

“You too, Dad” he flashes Kris a cheeky grin and Hana sets him down. He runs back towards his friends to play leaving the couple to be alone... Or so they thought. “He grows up so fast” came a sob from the side and Kris sighs for the nth time at Tao, “Tao, we’ve talked about this” “I know” Tao sobs some more, “but I just cant help but feel so... Ugh, it was like only yesterday that we fed him through a bottle, now he’s on his way to become a playboy like his --Oompf!” Kyungsoo elbows him on his side to cut off his sentence, Hana shakes his head at the boys and turns her attention back to her son. She watches as Aiden interacts with the other kids and cant help but feel worried as to how they treated him as if he grew up in a different world; she knew that the kids were going to be uptight because of their traditional aristocratic upbringing but it seemed like Aiden’s normal upbringing made him somewhat an alien to their group.

 

Kris notices his wife’s worried look and quickly places an arm around her, giving her a smile and presses a quick kiss on her temple. Chanyeol takes a sip of his glass of champagne and turns to the couple as he remembers, “Mm! By the way, Happy Anniversary to you two” he grins and the other follow suit as they too remember.

 

“Oh yeah,” Lay smiles at the enlightenment, “Aiden was born on your anniversary date! Wow, that’s pretty neat” “Talk about timing, huh?” Luhan sniggers. Kris rolls his eyes at his friends, still keeping his arm around his wife’s shoulder “It’s not out fault he came out a day earlier than intended”

 

As the group is succumbed into conversation, another guest arrives on the scene. Nana Dabin walks out to the front of the house to greet the guest but stops halfway as she sees who it is, her face gets drained of color and she feels her spine shake at the sight of the person. Unable to speak, the said guest gives her a smile then chuckles, “Surprised? It’s been long since a long time hasn't it, Nana?”

 

Walking past the stunned head keeper of the household, the person makes his way towards the back garden where the festivities were taking place then grins as he sees the couple. Kris suddenly stops speaking as he meets eyes with the newly-arrived guest and as the rest of the group notices, they too turn their heads in the direction of the back porch and sure enough, they too feel the unpleasant aura suddenly take over. “Kris...” Hana grips his hand, stopping him from pulling away from her to walk up to the guy, “Don’t... Aiden’s here.”

 

“I’m just gonna say hi” he mutters under his breath and takes his arm off of his wife and meets the man halfway. Kyuhyun chuckles and casually greets his little brother with a hug, amused by the blank expression that the other was trying so hard to maintain “What are you doing here?” “Can’t I drop by and greet my nephew a happy birthday?” Kyuhyun smiles and oh, how Kris wanted to raise his fist and punch it off his face. If only there weren’t people around -especially his son. He scoffs to the side and looks at Kyuhyun in foul distaste, “You have no nephew here... We are not family, remember?”

 

Kyuhyun sighs, “Oh but we are... Mother’s blood bonds us”

 

Tao is quick to notice the growing tension between the two gentlemen and as he spots a few of the other heads turn, he takes it upon himself to stop the two before Kris loses control and buries him right then and there. It would definitely not be a good memory for Aiden’s fifth birthday. Quickly, he walks up to the two and casually intercepts, “Kris... Hana needs you over there. I’ll entertain, Mr. Cho” Tao gives him a hard look and maintains doing so until the other had finally excused himself and returned back to his wife’s side whereas she then pulls him along to entertain all the other guests.

 

“As for you... I’ve been meaning to ask if I could talk to you in private” Kyuhyun sighs, he takes off his sunglasses and puts it inside his coat’s pocket “Alright, I had a feeling that he won’t be so happy to see me so I guess I will just have to waste the remainder of my time with you”

 

Chanyeol and Suho are quick to distract Aiden from seeing his father’s brother while Tao brings him inside the house where no one else could see them. He was sure that Kris wouldn’t mind, it would be better than causing a scene in public after all. So, he takes Kyuhyun to the parlor near the backyard and closes the door behind him after Kyuhyun enters; the latter looks around the place in familiarity and cant help but to whistle at how well-kept the place was, he had only gone here once but never could he forget every detail there was about his mother’s place. “Kris must’ve spent a fortune on this place... Tell me, how much did he pay Nana Dabin for her to stay?” Tao puts aside his glass and pockets his hands, he looks at Kyuhyun from top to bottom. The man certainly has changed in looks, he wishes he could say the same with the attitude.

 

“The place has been well-maintained by your grandmother and Nana Dabin had insisted to stay so technically, Kris has not paid excess for her services.” Tao informs him. Kyuhyun glances at him from the corner of his eye and gives a shrug, he strides towards the bookshelf and lets his eyes wander around the black and white photos put on display that were framed in gold, one displayed a portrait of his --and Kris’s- mother when she was still in her teen years, looking beautiful and elegant in her vintage dress, another was the photo of his mother and the young Kris Wu, the next was a family photo of the Wus and lastly, it was him... His photo as a baby boy.He knows because his father had one exactly like it.

 

He scoffed, feeling bitterness swell upon his chest. He walks away from the displays and flops down on one of the seats while Tao continues to stand observe him, “So... How is the revenge thing working out for you so far, Kyuhyun-ssi?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tao-ssi” he chuckles and steals a sip of Tao’s unfinished glass of champagne. Tao rolls his eyes at the fake innocence when it was so obvious that his aura of having planned something in mind was overflowing, “Oh please, don’t tell me that you’ll be dropping your pride to make amends with Kris”

 

“So, what if I am?”

 

Tao sighs, “I know you, Kyuhyun... Your pride is the only thing that you would never give up, it’s all you have left.”

 

Kyuhyun is quiet for a moment but then quickly brisks it away with a scoff to the side followed by a dark chuckle, he shakes his head as he repeatedly clicks his tongue at Tao, “Tao, Tao, Tao... Tsk. You don’t know me.”

 

Tao smirks at him, “you go ahead and believe the voices in your head, Kyuhyun... I won’t force what I know down your throat. I may not know everything about you but I know enough about you; we all have skeletons hidden in the closet, you just wish that you could’ve hidden them better.”

 

Kyuhyun keeps his facade firm, his smile turning into one of mockery just to get onto Tao’s nerves because he too had ample knowledge about the boy. They were not the only ones with cards under their sleeves.

 

“Like what, that I have caused my mother’s death? Don’t you think that I had just proven the world that someone can actually die of a broken heart?” he chuckles and it effectively irritates Tao because who --in their right state of mind- would manage to say such things pertaining to their own mother? Their own flesh and blood? Was Cho Kyuhyun that much of a heartless man? Right now, he was.

 

“That’s about enough...” came another voice, cutting Tao off before he could scowl at the man. They both turn their heads and see Kris entering the parlor with a blank stare, he directs his look at Kyuhyun, while the latter flashes him a smile --soft yet irritating to his eyes. “I think it’s about time that you make your leave, Kyuhyun. I would much appreciate it if you spare my son from embarrassment on his own birthday, so please, while I’m still sane and polite.”

 

The eldest in the room sighs in disappointment and gets up from his seat, he places back Tao’s glass on the table besides him and shrugs his shoulders, “Fine. I just wanted to greet my nephew but since I won’t be seeing him because I know how you will certainly not allow it then do me a favor and atleast, give him this”he places a small wrapped-up box beside Tao’s glass then begins to make his way towards the exit, he pats Tao on the shoulder as he walks past then stops just before Kris by the doorway, “I hope to do business with you soon, Yifan”

 

Kris mentally grimaces at how Kyuhyun had used his original birth name.

 

“I think that you will find my expertise quite handy someday” Kyuhyun smiles at him once more before finally making his exit. Kris doesn’t spare him another glance, instead he turns on his heel and walks back to the party with Tao following close behind.

 

Hana

 

“You know the thing about birthdays?” Chen asks, pulling my attention back to the group “What?” Lay asks and he answers, “Something bad almost always happens”

 

I look far ahead and see Chanyeol and Suho still distracting Aiden then turn my head towards the direction of the house. I feel relief washing over me as I see Kris approaching with Tao following behind him, he gives me an assuring smile and it somehow eases me some more because it only meant that he had everything under control. The sudden appearance of Cho Kyuhyun almost gave me a heart attack, knowing just how bad the tension was between him and Kris made me foresee the terrible scenarios that couldve taken place --which thankfully did not happen. It bothers me however, as to why he would just suddenly show up like that because other than the obvious fact that he wanted to make a scene, there seemed to be much more to his brief appearance than just that sole agenda. It was like he was sending a warning.

 

“Is everything okay?” I ask Kris, he places his arm around my shoulder once more and presses a soft kiss on my temple, “Ofcourse,” he assures, “nothing can ruin this day”

 

The day slowly begins to decay and one by one, the guests begin to leave. Ofcourse, the last ones to leave were Aidens uncles, who had insisted that they would help him open up his gifts first which they did. I had almost felt bad for the maids for having to clean up after them but such was the joy of the birthday boy as he decided to turn it into a game, he and Kris had decided to throw away the crumpled papers basketball-style with the garbage bin as their ring.

 

“Alright,” Kris claps his hands as Aiden shoots the last piece of paper and throws his hands up in victory, he picks him up from the couch and settles him down on the floor, “it’s about time that you go to bed, kid”

 

“But dad!” he whines, I giggle as he displays his puppy dog eyes and Kris sighs --not because he had given in- but because it had no effect on him anymore, “You had a long day, Aiden and it’s almost midnight” “Daddy’s right, Aiden” I agree as I walk towards Kris’s side and wrap my arms around his waist whilst resting my head on his shoulder, “Be a good boy and go to bed, we have to go somewhere tomorrow”

 

His eyes suddenly light up at the news and he looks at us with glee and curiosity, “Really? Where?”

 

“Hm...” I lean forward and give him a playful smile, “It’s a secret but if you sleep now, you’ll be able to wake up tomorrow and go with me and Dad” “Okay!” he grins and quickly wraps his arms around my neck then pecks my cheek while saying goodnight then does the same to his dad. “Nana, can you please take him up?” Kris asks and Nana Dabin bows her head with a smile, we bid her goodnight and she leaves the premises of the study room with Aiden babbling on and about, telling his Nana all about his day while Kris and I watch him in amusement.

 

He certainly was growing up fast.

 

“You can leave those for tomorrow, ladies. That will be all for tonight.” Kris tells the remainder of the housekeepers in the room that were setting aside the rest of the unopened gifts, they all give a bow and say their ‘goodnights’ as they leave until such time that it was only me and Kris in the room. The last to leave had closed the doors of the study thus giving us privacy.

 

I flop down at the couch letting out an exhausted sigh. I was definitely drained by all the activities of the day, entertaining guests were certainly not a joke and not to mention the sudden stress that Kyuhyun had poured upon us with his little surprise appearance. Why would he even show up like that? I thought he had already decided to leave us alone when he just so gracefully disappeared for the past years. Kris cuts me off of my thoughts as he flops down on the space beside me and throws an arm around me to pull me close, “Tired?” he asks and I can only nod in response.

 

“Then... I guess well just have to go to bed” he breathes. I could tell he was hiding something by the tone of his voice, I turn to him with suspicious eyes “Why? What are you planning?”

 

Feigning disappointment, he gets up from the couch and begins to head for the door but I had prevented him from doing so when I grabbed a firm hold of his hand, “Yah, Wu Yi Fan, what is it?” “Nah, you’re already tired, honey”

 

“Am not!” I shoot up to my feet to show him that I was completely fine and he grins mischievously, “Shall we go then?” I blink my eyes in confusion at his words but he gives me no verbal answer, instead he pulls me with him, out of the house and into the car.

 

What was he planning? It was midnight already, just where does he think he’s taking me at this hour?

 

“Where are we going?” I ask him as he takes the first turn since we left the house, he smiles and keeps his eyes on the road, “you’ll see... Here, put this on” he tosses me an eye mask and I feel my expectations skyrocketing again because it can only mean one thing when he hands me something to cover my eyes. Whatever it was, I couldn’t wait to find out.

 

Faint music keeps me distracted as Kris continues to drive to God knows where. I remember the last time that it was like this, when he came to Seoul to bring me out of my sullen state, when he brightened up my day when I was feeling my lowest as best as he could. It was quite an enjoyable day but at the same time, I felt a bit of bitterness because back then I thought that it was probably as good as it could get. Each and everyday that I was with him, I had cherished them so dearly as if they were to be the last, who was to assure me that it would last anyway?

 

“We’re here” he announces as the car comes to a slow stop.

 

Even now, I still cherish them.

 

I hear him unbuckling his seat belt and exit the car then the door on my side is opened and Kris does the honors of unbuckling my seatbelts before leisurely guiding me out. I feel my heart beginning to thump as I feel grass beneath my feet and faint lights seeping through the fabric of the blindfold. “Stop here”I hear him whisper, his breath hitting the back of my ear and a soft kiss lands on the exposed skin on my neck sending shivers down my spine and butterflies erupt in my stomach. Oh God, this man.

 

“Okay” I squeak the reply and his warmth leaves my side. Minutes passed after that yet it felt like hours, I was slowly growing anxious with every cold gust of wind that blew. “Kris, can I take it off now?”I asked and when I didn’t receive any response, I had decided to take it off and immediately, I felt like the air got knocked out of me.

 

It was a garden lighted up by the many lights that coated the plants like snow on a December, then under the gazebo was Kris, standing with a smile on his face and a picnic blanket laid out. My feet felt locked on the ground and everything felt so surreal, it’s like no matter how many times he surprises me I just never get used to it and heaven only knows how thankful I am for having this man in my life. Slowly, I begin to advance towards him, my eyes never leaving him and just when I was on the foot of the steps leading up to the gazebo, his eyes turn to one of worry and he immediately steps down.

 

His hands reach out to my face and he brushes his thumb just under my eyes, “Hey, what’s wrong?” I was a it dumbfounded by the question until I realize that I had let a few stray tears fall.

 

“Oh... Hahaha!” I wave him off as I frantically wipe them away, “Nothing! I was just... Overwhelmed” without further ado, I had wrapped my arms around his torso engulfing him in a tight embrace, “Thank you, baobei”

 

“Aish” he returns the embrace and a smile etches onto my face at the feel of his warmth, “You’re such a cry baby, Hana” he rests his chin on top of my head; I wish we could stay like this forever, I wish. We eventually break the hug and flopped down on the fluffy blanket.

 

---

 

 

Hana hums in deep thought, she was sitting down while Kris laid on his side waiting for her to speak. Her eyes divert upwards and Kris quietly studies her face, he notices her brows slowly meeting in the middle as she thought deeper and deeper, the way she bites onto her lower lip and the little twitch on her right eye; Hana had fair skin, her face was well taken care of even after all the years that they had been together, her hair was longer now and her face was much fuller, Kris can’t help but wow to himself because who knew that such a plain Jane could even look this good? And she was his as he was hers.

 

As his wait continues, he begins to make a mental list of everything that he has ever loved --and still loves- about her.

 

Her eyes; God, how much he loved them especially when they sparkle in delight every time he pleases her or something goes her way, when her day goes fairly well and whenever she looks at him like he’s the only guy in the world. They’re even beautiful now and look at that nose, she’s definitely been blessed by the heavens! Not to mention those lips... Kris unconsciously bites down on his own as his eyes lingered on his wife’s full pink plumps; she had the most addicting lips, the only pair that he has ever kissed that makes him crave for more.

 

“Underwear?” she finally speaks but Kris doesn’t etch, Hana notices his lingering gaze and the way he was biting his lips and frowns, he notices the change in her expression and gets out of his daydreaming state. “Yah, I said underwear” she repeats her answer and he blinks.

 

She picks up a piece of grape at his lack of response and throws it at him, it hits him on the forehead before rolling down on the blanket. Kris chuckles, “Good choice, I wouldn’t mind seeing you only in your underwear everyday for the rest of our happy married life”

 

Hana rolls her eyes at him before lying down beside him, her head resting on the arm that he had extended to the side to act as a support of her head, “what about you?” she returns the question and Kris is quick to answer “Nothing.” he affirms, “I will wear nothing if I only had to wear one thing for the rest of my life?”

 

“Why?!”

 

“Time efficiency, darling. If you’re in the mood then you won’t have to be troubled with taking anything off of me” he grins and Hana smacks him on the chest “You’re such a ert, Wu Fan” she sits up, “I swear if Aiden inherits that side of yours, I will shave your head”

 

Kris laughs then there was silence between them. Hana dazes off, thoughts had begun to cloud her mind once again as she remembers the events of earlier in the day. It has already been two years since Kyuhyun had suddenly disappeared almost as if he never even existed yet here he was again; two years yet it felt like it was only two weeks. As if it was only yesterday that Hana finally got the proper promotion from being her grandmother-in-law’s secretary to being part of the accounting floor and finally gaining back the position of being the Head for the Finance Department.

 

It had been good, life has been great even with the debt still lingering in the air. Kris has managed to find a way around it without having to sacrifice any part of the company, Vanessa Wei seemed much more patient than they had first thought but Kris was cautious enough not to count on it.

 

Noticing the change in his wife’s aura, Kris sits up and wraps his arms around her.

 

“Baobei...” he mumbles and Hana hums in reply, Kris pecks a kiss on the exposed skin of her shoulder and whispers, “How about a second little FanFan?”

 

She flicks him on the forehead, “I will seriously shave your head!”

 

---

 

Author's Note:

 

Awe, finally released an update after such a long time!  How are you guys? So, yes, I made a time skip of two years where Aiden has just turned three years old and yeah, there has been changes. Let's get the show on the road! Hopefully, the ideas keep pouring in! Drama! Yeah!