CHAPTER TWO

 

“Good morning, Ma’am” Hana greets her boss with a smile as she enters the premises of her office carrying with a tablet in one hand and a cup of tea on the other. The lady smiles back at her assistant as she sets aside papers while Hana approaches her desk and hands her the tablet “I have your schedules ready here and a cup of tea to start your day” she places down the cup of tea, receiving a quiet ‘thank you’ as the lady reviews the file on the tab.

 

After awhile, the lady hands her back the tab and picks up her tea to take a sip.

 

“So, how is my great grandson?” the lady asks, like she did every day since after she personally met the bundle of joy. Hana laughs a little sheepishly, “Erm… well, he’s doing well. He’s been disturbing his father’s sleep still”

 

The lady laughs, “Good for him, Kris finally met his match”

 

Hana didn’t know if she found the lack of concern as funny or weird, either way she couldn’t help but agree. “Kris isn’t exactly fond about it though” she informs, all the more to the lady’s joy; she smirks and rolls her eyes, “Hana, dear, trust me… he should get used to it soon enough”

 

“Hopefully…” Hana sighs, “I’ll be going now, ma’am”

 

“Alright, thank you for the tea, dear”

 

“No problem, ma’am” she smiles one last time and exits.

 

 

Every single day at CUBE was a busy day and although she didn’t notice it, Hana –almost always- never has it easy especially when she has to catch all the schedules that the lady could not attend. To answer around five hundred calls every day and make five hundred more, to reschedule meetings that sometimes could cause millions of money flying out the window, to keep track of everything that the owner of CUBE does and will do.

 

However, and thankfully enough, she always has the time to attend both to Aiden and Kris. Well, more on Aiden… atleast, in Kris’s opinion.

 

“—Yes sir but… –as I’ve told you, her schedule is fully booked for the day and –Look, sir… I will call you back as soon as someone cancels for today but as for now, there is nothing I can do –Yes, I assure you that… –Yes sir, thank you and have a nice day” with a tired breath of sigh, Hana hangs up the phone and goes back to filing some contracts and other papers that needed to be signed.

 

BRRRT. BRRRT.

 

Hana pulls her phone out of her bag and dismisses the alarm that she had set. It was 12 o’clock in the middle of the day and that meant that she had to check up on Aiden. With a quick swipe and dial, she presses her phone onto her ear and waits for the other line to answer.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Uh yes, Ayi? It’s Hana, is Aiden behaving?”

 

“Ah, yes dear… in fact, he’s asleep right now, having his nap” Hana puffs out a quiet sigh and smiles a little hearing her in-law “I see… that’s good to here. Kris will pick him up later” “Are you taking overtime?”

 

“No, Ayi… just…” she rubs her temple, “my boss has a meeting with clients later on so I have to be there”

 

“I see… well, good luck” “Thank Ayi… bye”

 

As Hana puts away her phone, the elevator doors open and Hyorin steps out –a Korean that she had befriended two months after she started working for CUBE; she was the total opposite of Hana, she was the epitome of y and Hana couldn’t remember a day that she walked through the building doors without guys turning their heads.

 

“Hey” Hyorin chimes with her signature smile, if she worked for Wu Enterprise Hana could only imagine how much attention she’d get from the bachelors running that business. “Hey” she greets back.

 

“So… lunch? There’s this great sushi place I know” she asks. Hana looks around her desk and gets up, taking her wallet with her and informs her boss through the intercom. “Okay dear, be back before 1:30” “Yes ma’am…” she turns to Hyorin, “let’s go?”

 

 

Hyorin observes her friend sitting across her as they go through the menu; by just a short year, Hana has looked more stressed than the boss of CUBE and to be quite honest, she felt a little sorry for her. After a short while, they inform the waiter of their orders and send him off.

 

“Did you get enough sleep or did your husband let you handle the baby again?” Hyorin inquires, taking a sip of water. Hana chuckles, “He volunteered but I handled it well and besides… Kris deserves his sleep”

 

Ofcourse, she would answer that and as much as Hyorin would like to roll her eyes to the statement, she doesn’t because somehow she understands the situation. It had intrigued her when she had just first met Hana as to why people buzzed a lot about her, being a girl that usually avoids gossip in the office she never really knew how much of a big deal Hana was until one day she just randomly found her face on the front of a Chinese magazine with a baby boy and the chairman of Wu Prime.

 

Hyorin sighs, “Hana… just because your husband runs a multi-billion company does not mean that he’s the only one who deserves all the sleep in the world. As a father, he has an obligation to Aiden just as much as –” “I know, I know… but… it’s just that he’s facing something right now”

 

“It’s not another woman, is it?” she asks in a serious tone. Hana’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets and she frantically waves both her hands infront of her, “N-NO! It’s not that, it’s something else…”

 

“Then what is it?”

 

Hana doesn’t say anything but just shakes her head. “Nothing… nevermind. so… how’s your day been, so far?” She didn’t really know what her husband’s problem was; she just knew that he was under something at the moment, she never asked him anyway for she often worried that it would do more bad than good, he was already stressed at work so the first of her priorities was to always make sure that he’s relaxed once he gets home.

 

“Hana? Hana.” Hyorin snaps her fingers infront of Hana’s face, causing her to flinch “H-huh?”

 

“Tsk… you need to stop thinking too much, you already have Aiden to worry about” she pauses and reaches over the table, placing her hand atop of Hana’s, “Your husband can handle it, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about”

 

Hana takes a deep breath and smiles as she nods at Hyorin in agreement. “So, anyway…” Hyorin steers to another topic as their orders arrive, “How’s Aiden?”

 

“Oh, he’s a bundle of joy” Hana says proudly, sure of herself and her words.

 

 

“He’s pure evil…” Kris groans as he rubs his temples. He sat right across Luhan inside a restaurant having lunch with him upon invitation; Luhan laughs, “ofcourse, you would say that…” he says and rolls his eyes at his friend before reaching over for his glass of wine and takes a small sip, “Is it because he steals your wife’s attention?”

 

“More than that… he disturbs my sleep, almost every night” Kris sighs, frustration was evident in his voice as he too decides to drink his wine. “Almost,” Luhan emphasizes, “not always… he’s a baby, can you blame him?”

 

“I want to”

 

“Come on…” Luhan tilts his head to the side, “you act like you’ve never disturbed your father’s sleep when you were a baby. Even I annoyed the hell out of my parents when I was a baby, let Aiden have his fun”

 

Kris rolls his eyes, “can we not talk about this? I already have enough problems”

 

“Such as… the debt?”

 

All of a sudden, everything around Kris felt muted as he stared at Luhan with a blank face yet inside his mind he questioned himself how the hell did he know. Suho… but how could it be Suho when Kris made him swear not to let the others know? Did he betray me?

 

“Chen told me” Luhan tells him, as if he just read Kris’s mind. “Who told him?” Kris follows up a question and Luhan shakes his head.

 

“Then how?”

 

Luhan smirks at his friend.

 

THREE DAYS EARLIER

 

Seoul

 

“Hey guys…” Chen calls everyone’s attention as he casually strode inside the commons room –a new installation to the company building recommended by Chanyeol several months ago, as he insists that they needed it to bond- no one heeds his call and continues to do their respective businesses.

 

Xiumin was busy talking to someone on his phone, Kyungsoo and Lay were busy typing some stuff down their laptops, Tao was reading his monthly renditions of Gucci, Sehun was busy solving a rubrics cube as Luhan watched him, Chanyeol was sprawled on the table drooling as he slept and Baekhyun was having pokemon battles one with Kai on their gameboys –don’t judge.

 

Chen sits down on his seat next to Luhan and clears his throat to catch atleast one of his colleagues’ attention. Thankfully, Luhan steers his attention away from Sehun and smiles at Chen, greeting him

 

“Oh hey man, you’re here?” Luhan looks around the room then turns back to Chen, “Where’s Suho?”

 

“He’s in his office and he’s hiding something”

 

Baekhyun snorts as he continues punching buttons on his toy, trying to beat Kai’s Pikachu with his Bulbasaur. “If it’s his relationship, then you’re pretty late on the news” Chen rolls his eyes, “It’s not that… besides, I don’t give a as to who he sleeps with… this is something big and I can feel it”

 

Sprinkled with curiosity, Luhan raises a brow and asks, “He’s not getting married, is he?”

 

“No!” Chen exclaims, frustrated now “Bigger than that! Have you seen him after his trip to China? It’s like he came from a freaking funeral”

 

“So what are you implying?” Xiumin asks, still typing in his laptop but atleast his attention was caught and Chen couldn’t be more proud of himself for so. Smirking, he answers “Don’t you think… something happened in that meeting in China with the big man? I mean… why would Kris just suddenly call for a meeting with all the CEOs? I say, something is fishy!”

 

Still reading his magazine, Tao sighs and joins in the conversation “And so? I think whatever it was that Gege has called for, it’s for them to know alone”

 

“And what are we? Are we not shareholders of this company too?” Chen argues.

 

Lay raises his hand and points at Chen while his other hand continues to type on the keyboard, “Correct, Jongdae-ah... we are shareholders but of Wu Enterprise Seoul alone” Chen takes a deep breath as Lay continues, “Whatever it is that the CEOs have met with the Chairman for, it is their business and not ours”

 

“But –“ Chen tries to argue again but Kai cuts through him, “Suho’s just probably stressed because Kris added more to his load”

 

“That is a possibility” Kyungsoo mumbles in agreement.

 

“Kris can be a heartless , still…” Sehun comments.

 

“Guys, will you listen to –“ Chen tries to say again but gets cut again by Tao as the latter growls at Sehun, “That man is a father Sehun!” “And so is your dad, my dad, and all our dads yet they can be pains in the ”

 

BAM! Silence fills the room as Chen had slammed his fists on the table and stands up from his seat, “Kris is in a deep of debt, damn it!” and his words add to the weight of that said silence as everyone had just suddenly stopped what they were doing.

 

Chanyeol wakes up and rubs his sleepy eyes, “and how did you know that?”

 

Kris lands his palm on his face as Luhan nodded his head in confirmation, “Yup… no joke, man. He managed to get the information in 48-hours just by blackmailing the CEO of the U.S. branch with photos of the guy wearing a tutu outfit”

 

Kris didn’t know what more he found weird: the part where Chen went on a 48-hour blackmail spree or the discovery of a CEO wearing a tutu. Shaking his head, he leans back on his chair and heaves out a heavy breath of air. He thinks for a moment in silence and Luhan patiently waits for him, after awhile he turns his attention back to his friend with a look of question on his face as he asks Luhan

 

“A tutu outfit?”

 

Luhan chuckles and holds his hands up in defense, “Hey man… I don’t judge another man’s business unless it affects mine”

 

“A ing tutu outfit?” Kris repeats as Luhan merely replies with a shrug.

 

 

Hana turns off her computer and gathers her things before leaving her desk and heads towards her boss’ office. She knocks on one of the double doors before stepping in with a smile, “Ready to leave for dinner, ma’am?”

 

And just in time that the lady had left her desk; she smiles at Hana and nods her head then they leave the premises of her office to be on her way to her last appointment of the day. Hana didn’t know why her boss insisted that she tags along, since the lady usually let’s her off so that she could pick up Aiden but Hana guesses that this dinner appointment is important given the certainties.

 

The lady herself requested her to place the dinner on her appointment, it should be important.

 

The ride to the restaurant was quiet; Hana didn’t bother talking, the lady was probably tired given such another hectic day so she stayed quiet; however, a few moments later, her boss spoke “I’m thinking of stepping down from my position at CUBE” Stepping down? But it’s only been a few years… Hana chuckles and asks, “Settling down permanently, ma’am?”

 

“It’s becoming a bore… besides, I’ve pestered my grandson long enough” she smiles. “So what will happen to CUBE?” ofcourse, that was never out of the question. The lady sighs and shrugs, “I don’t know… I would probably hand it over to Yifan as a gift; he usually knows what to do”

 

Hana sweatdropped, how much more rich could these people get? It was a little ridiculous if you thought about it, a gift. She knew her husband’s family on both sides had a wad load of money on their names and she knew that he probably received outrageous presents for gifts –cars, houses, lands, cash and expensive clothes were one thing but… a company? That was another.

 

Her boss chuckles seeing her sudden confused reaction, ofcourse… Hana’s world and way of living was very different from theirs.

 

“Get used to it, dear… trust me, there are far more ridiculous things to hear in this world”

 

And I certainly hope Aiden does not grow up spoiled. Hana quietly prays.

 

The car finally comes to a stop and the door is opened for them; her boss steps out first and she follows behind her as she leads the way into the restaurant. “Good evening madam, you’re just in time” the valet smiles at her boss and asks them to follow him to the table.

 

Contrary to Hana’s expectation of seeing business men she didn’t know, waiting in their fine suits and holding wines, she was surprised to find her husband sitting there. “Kris?”

 

“Why are you so surprised?” he asks her after he greets his grandmother then pulls up a seat for the two of them.

 

 

Kris pulls up the car on the side of the road and turns to Hana –who looked dazed and confused. She had not spoken to him during the whole span of their journey. He sighs and speaks, “I was going to tell you about it…”

 

“A hundred and fifty billion… and in dollars?” she spoke with emphasis and such disbelief, “when did you plan on telling me, Yi Fan?”

 

In life, there were certain things that marked when a person was seriously pissed off and in this case, Hana calling him by his real name was the mark. For Kris, this was the situation wherein a single wrong word could set off a bomb and he would have to bear with the consequences should it explode. So he chooses his words carefully and speaks with caution, “Soon, trust me… I have things under control”

 

“Under control?” Wrong word. . “Yi Fan, you just asked your grandmother if she could lend you fifty-percent!” “Hana, calm down… please”

 

“How can I calm down? You have a debt of a hundred and fifty billion dollars!”

 

“Correction,” he unbuckles his seatbelt, “My father has a debt of a hundred and fifty billion and as his successor, and I am paying it”

 

Hana unbuckles her seatbelt aswell and the couple exits the car, making their way to the front door of Ayi’s house, “Technically, it your debt, Yi Fan. How will you manage to pay this off?” she hisses as they get closer to the house, “I told you that I have it under control”

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“I swear, Yi Fan –“ the door opens, “Ayi!” Hana smiles as Aiden is handed over to her. “Have you been a good boy, baby?” she coos at Aiden and he giggles brightly then hugs her.

 

“He’s been an angel” Ayi chuckles, lightly rubbing the baby’s back. Kris forces a smile, “thanks for taking care of him, Ayi” “Always glad to help out”

 

“Well,” Hana sighs, “we’ll be on our way now”

 

Quickly saying their goodbyes and thanks, the family leaves. The ride home was quiet; Aiden was being cradled in his mother’s arms and Kris kept his eyes on the road, they ignored the disturbing as best as they could. The baby pushes himself up and Hana holds him still as he stands on her lap, he reaches out his little hands and cups her face as the Aiden tilts his head to the side in question.

 

Mama, why are you sad? He questions in his mind; his mother faintly smiles at him before settling him back to sit on her lap. Aiden turns to his dad, Baba, why is mama sad? “Buh –buh, ba ba”

 

Kris raises a brow and takes a quick glance at him, “Baba, babaaaaaah” Aiden rambles on as he reaches out his hands to him, “Baba’s driving, kiddo” Kris tells him. Why is mama sad, Baba? Tell me! Tell me! Aiden continues to ramble on; Hana sighs, “Aiden-ah ~ when we get home, you can bother baba as much as you like, okay?”

 

“Yeah when –what?”

 

Hana smirks at her husband’s baffled reaction and sticks her tongue out at him. Childish, Kris thinks as he sets his hawk eyes at her at a red light.

 

True to her words, Hana hands over Aiden to Kris as soon as they got out of the car and went straight inside the house. “Hana –Yah, ow, aish… Aiden, don’t pull on baba’s hair” he tells the boy but Aiden ignores his plea and continues to yank at his jet black hair all the more. “Hana –“

 

“Baba loves it when you pull his hair, Aiden” she hollers sweetly, entering the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water. Kris follows close behind with a laughing boy yanking on his hair; “Aish… is this your way of punishing me?” he manages to pull Aiden away and sets the boy down on his high chair.

 

“I’m not punishing you baobei,” she innocently bats her lashes at him, “but you are Aiden’s dad afterall so you have to take care of him too”

 

“You are being childish, Hana” he frowns. Hana scoffs to the side, “Childish? I’m being honest”

 

The two fall silent, only then exchanging hard looks as slowly their brows begin to narrow. Are they fighting? But isn’t that bad? “Ma ma-muhhh, Babaaah” but the two don’t turn; Hana eventually pulls away, “I’m sleeping in the guest room”

 

But Kris grabs her hand before she could turn and pulls her to his embrace.

 

“I’m sorry, alright?” she remains quiet and unmoving, “I just didn’t want you involved in whatever mess this is… but trust me, I do have it under control… I just can’t give up some things that’s why I asked for help”

 

“I just wanted to know because I wanna help…”

 

Kris sighs. It was understandable in a way but with a debt this big, he doubts that it would be clean which is why he didn’t want his family involved because if bad comes to worst and Hana gets in a tight spot, he doesn’t know if he would be able to forgive himself.

 

He’s stealing my mama! Aiden begins to cry thus breaking the moment. Kris puffs out a sigh while Hana chuckles and pulls away to attend to the little one.

 

---

 

Hey there guys!

 

Well, here’s CHAPTER TWO. Sorry for the late updates but it was finals week and yeah… anyway, as you all may or may have not known, I’m holding a poster contest for Bottled Hopes and Lullabies and here are the mechanics:

1. The contest is open for everyone with an AFF account and most especially to those who want KARMA points! :D

2. The poster should be relevant to BHL's genre: fluff, romance, comedy and drama

3. Aiden is to be on the poster

4. Deadline of Entries is on December 22, 2014, 11:59 PM

5. Upload your entry to an image hosting site (preferably on Tumblr if you have) and PM me or wall post the url/link.

 

Ofcourse, a contest will never be complete without prizes:

WINNER gets 5500 KARMA POINTS and a ONE-SHOT of his/her choice and specifications. His/her poster will (ofcourse) be used and will get credited.

TOP THREE will get 1500 KARMA POINTS EACH