Valerie

It was almost midnight, and I escaped to the garden while everyone went to bed. Chanyeol didn't know I was here since he was out with the guys. The conversation I had with Granny Park kept playing in my head, making my knees weak and I had to sit myself at the nearest garden bench before my legs could give up on me.

"Do you love Chanyeol then?"

I was caught by surprise with her question. I didn't know what I should say to her. Should I lie? But everything has already been a lie from the start. Chanyeol and I... we're not dating. We're acting. We're co-workers, employer and employee... friends. We're not in love with each other. I don't love him.

Right?

At that moment I got flashbacks of when I first met him. He stood tall and seemed scary even though I wanted to laugh at his pointy ears, but when he barked orders to his subordinates who looked like they were about to pee in their pants, I kept my mouth shut. For a month, he kept ordering me to do work that are not related to the my job description at all, and when I was close to just speak my mind to my own boss, Chanyeol called me into his office one day and said, "Congratulations, you passed my test. Now you're officially my PA. First thing I want you to do is grab the files I need for my meeting with JYP and then come with me. You'll be following everywhere I go from now on."

And that's how I found myself always stepping after him wherever he goes. Meetings, social events, office gatherings... name them. I got threatened many times by three of his past ' buddies' just because I was always around him, and when I had enough, I marched up to him and said, "Sir, with all due respect, I cannot live everyday with your girlfriends threatening me whenever they see me with you. It's either you tell them it's part of my job or only take me with you when you're going somewhere work related."

Chanyeol was amused with my outburst, to be honest, and went with both options. As time grew past, I became much, much more comfortable with him that I sometimes worry that I may have crossed the lines, but then I realised Chanyeol became less of an around me and became someone I could call a friend. He even threw me a party on the exact same date I started working with him a year later, and would randomly give me gifts whenever he feels like it. I was flustered at first, but I got use to it after a few months.

But what really got me touched was when my father was admitted after a heart attack, he cancelled a meeting just to personally send me to the hospital and gave me a week off with pay. He even visited a few times, making my mother think that I was dating Chanyeol instead of just working with him. Later on, I found out that he kept in touch with my father behind my back and played golf with my old man whenever he could. I even went with them once and the smile I saw on my father's face was so beautiful that it made me cry.

Then, I witnessed something that made my heart skip a beat. My father has been gloomy ever since he had been sick, but that day Chanyeol made him laugh and called 'son' when we ate. Chanyeol's smile was so wide that it blinded me, and he gave me a discreet and playful wink. I could tell that he was happy.. very happy. 

After that, random moments of Chanyeol spending his time with me, laughing, teasing... they all went into my head like a bullet train. I only snapped out of it when Granny Park called my name again. Only then I realised that my heart was beating so fast in my chest and that my face felt hot from the sudden blush on my face.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I do."

I couldn't forget the look on Granny Park's face after I told her that I do love his grandson. There was a weird glow in her eyes that made me frown, but it seemed harmless. I couldn't really tell since she looked away and told me to leave. I sighed as I massaged my thigh gently, hoping that it'll stop cramping so I could go back inside and sleep.

"Are you alright?" My movement stopped when I heard the voice, and I sighed before straightening up and turned my head to look at the newcomer.

"What are you doing here, Sehun?" I asked.

Sehun gave me a small smile and walked towards me. I was too tired to argue so I let him sit beside me. I made sure not to look at him though. "You're not pushing me away," he whispered although I could hear the relief and surprise in his tone.

"I'm tired."

"Are you sick?"

I shook my head, knowing that he was glancing at me. "I'm fine. I'm just... tired." I sighed again. "Why aren't you out with the guys?"

"I just got back from picking up my parents from the airport," he told me.

I swallowed. I haven't seen his parents for years, and they used to be so good to me when I was dating Sehun. Mrs. Oh was a kind lady who treated me like her own since she had always longed for another female's presence in the family, and Mr. Oh used to treat me coldly when I first met them but became a total sweetheart after years. I never contacted them after our break up, and I'm sure they're disappointed in me for not calling them.

"How are they?" I asked.

"They're okay. I didn't tell them you're here, though." I frowned but kept my question to myself. Sehun heaved a sigh and I could already tell that there was something he wanted to say. Might as well stay and listen since my leg is still cramped, I figured and waited. "Listen, Val. Can I- can we talk?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"Us."

"There's no more us, Sehun. We ended five years ago."

"Can you stop staring at your phone? If she calls, she calls."

Chanyeol snapped his head towards Baekhyun and sighed before placing his phone on the table. He has been staring at the device for the past ten minutes, although his mind was someplace else. He couldn't shake off the horrible feeling in his chest when he learned that Sehun and Valerie were once engaged although it lasted for only three weeks. He sighed again and took a swing of his beer, missing the looks on Joonmyeon, Jongin, and Kyungsoo's face.

"What happened before we got here?" Kyungsoo asked, whispering to Jongin who sat beside him.

"I'll tell you later," the other replied and turned to Chanyeol. "Yah, why didn't you bring Val along?" he asked, successfully making the taller turn to him with the mere mention of his 'girlfriend'. Jongin rolled his eyes at the questioning look on the other's face. "I asked, why didn't you bring Val along? Pay attention, idiot."

"She said she was tired," the other replied. "I thought I'd give her some space after what happened with grandma too."

"Wait, grandma talked to Val?" Baekhyun questioned, looking surprised. "And she came out alive?"

"Hey, she's not that bad." Joonmyeon chided him softly.

Jongin scoffed. "That's what you say. You're not her grandson, so of course she treats you nicer."

"But I've spent my whole life with you guys. Sure she could be mean sometimes, but that's just her being a grandmother to her out-of-control-grandchildren."

"You just sounded like an old man," Kyungsoo snorted. "Shut up, will you?"

Baekhyun snickered at this.

Joonmyeon sighed and looked away. Sora came back to the table then after having spent a few minutes talking on the phone at a near distance. Jongin wouldn't allow her to step too far just in case she was disturbed by some drunkards without him realising it, but gave her enough space so no one could listen in to her conversation over the phone.

"Who were you talking to?" Jongin asked as she sat next to him.

"Someone needed to know if you're free anytime soon, but I told them you're on break this week." Sora told him with a small smile. "And then I was talking to Minyoung."

"Cha Minyoung? From my department?" Kyungsoo asked, slightly leaning foreword to look at her.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. She was freaking out because she couldn't contact Val."

Chanyeol's lips made a loud pop sound as he took away the beer bottle he was just chugging into his mouth. He swallowed and frowned at his co-worker. "Wait, why couldn't she contact Val?" he asked.

"She's probably asleep and had her phone on silent," Baekhyun said, trying to assure his cousin who was beginning to look worried. "Or maybe she's in the bathroom?"

"She could also be mingling with anyone in the house," Joonmyeon added, still clueless to the truth about Sehun and Valerie. "Sehun's parents had just arrived, right? Maybe she met them and are socialising with them?"

Chanyeol's eyes widened at this. He forgot that his uncle and aunt was due to arrive tonight, and if it's true that they've arrived already, Valerie might be meeting them now and that thought suddenly felt unsettling to him. Sora, who noticed the look on her boss's face, sighed.

"Don't worry about her, boss." she told Chanyeol who snapped his head at her. "Sehun and Val might've had a past together, but trust me when I say she's not holding onto it. Give your girlfriend some credit, will you?"

Chanyeol swallowed and nodded solemnly before drinking his beer again. Baekhyun patted his back, still totally clueless about their whole scheme, while Kyungsoo and Joonmyeon exchanged curious gazes. Jongin leaned towards his girlfriend and whispered, "You do know that they're not really dating, right?"

Sora nodded. "I know," she whispered back. "But tell me I'm not the only one who realised that our boss may have feelings for my friend?"

Jongin glanced back at his cousin and frowned.

When they all returned to the house an hour later, they weren't surprised to see that the house was pretty much still bright with lights. They walked into the house and was met with Jiyeon who smiled sweetly at Chanyeol. "If I knew you guys went out for drinks, I would've tagged along." she said.

Baekhyun scoffed. "Even if you knew, we wouldn't want you to come along anyway. You weren't invited," he told her, rolling his eyes.

"Baek, be nice." Joonmyeon hissed in his ears.

"Did you guys had fun?" Jiyeon asked, acting like she didn't hear Baekhyun's remark. She then noticed Sora and smiled at her. "I'm sorry, I think we haven't properly met. I'm Jiyeon, Chanyeol's fiancé."

Sora's eyes widened in surprise at this before her gaze flickered to Chanyeol who had a frown on his face. The tall guy sighed. "Jiyeon, how many times-"

"Sehun's parents are here, by the way." Jiyeon cut him off with a weird glint in her eyes. "And Valerie's with them. You kinda missed the emotional reunion she had with Mrs. Oh when Valerie came inside the house with Sehun earlier."

"Val was with Sehun?"

Jiyeon nodded. "Yeah, they spent like an hour hanging out in the garden after he came back from the airport."

Chanyeol swallowed hard at this. Baekhyun sighed from behind him and came forward to stand beside him. "Come on, Yeol. We haven't seen aunty and uncle for so long. Let's go say hi, okay?" The man nodded and followed after Baekhyun, heart suddenly beating so painfully fast in his chest the closer they got to the living room.

The first person he saw was Valerie, and she was seated next to his aunt with their hands firmly linked together. Mr. Oh was laughing at something his wife had said, and Valerie smiled at the couple warmly. Sehun was sitting next to his uncle on the couch, his eyes trained on Valerie and his mother, and another laughter hit the family at Mr. Oh's remark. Suddenly, Chanyeol felt like he was out of place and the image of Valerie and Mrs. Oh sitting so close together actually broke his heart. But then, he caught Valerie's eyes that seemed to smile softly at his presence and he unknowingly returned it with his own.

"Children!" Mrs. Oh squealed as she finally caught sight of the group. "Baek, Joon, Soo, Nini and my, my Chanyeollie... why in the world are you so tall?"

Chanyeol caught the laughter in Valerie's eyes at the playful tone his aunt just gave him and looked away in embarrassment. He hugged the lady and shook hands with his uncle who smiled widely at them all. Jongin took the opportunity to introduce Sora to them, making Sora blush at Mrs. Oh's delight coo.

"Come, sit down." she invited them all. Chanyeol's eyes met Valerie's then, and she softly patted the space next to her. Smiling, he came to sit next to her, automatically kissing her cheek because he's been dying to do so since they made eye contact earlier, and she smiled softly at him before kissing his chin. That surprised him, but it also made his heart beat faster in his chest - although this time, it wasn't filled with pain.

"My dear, is there something I'm missing?" Mrs. Oh suddenly asked, breaking their trance. The lady was staring at them in confusion but she had a smile on her face.

Valerie suddenly took Chanyeol's hand in hers, making him turn to look at her instead, and she threw him a soft smile before turning back to her ex-boyfriend's mother. "Chanyeol is the guy I was telling you about, Mrs. Oh. He's my boyfriend."

Author's note:

What do you guys think? Like it? Hewhew :3

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