Valerie

The first person to greet us the moment we got down from the car was a tall lady with very familiar features. She was literally glowing in her sundress and she smiled widely when she spotted Chanyeol appearing from the back of the car with our luggages.

"Yeol!" she squealed and I heard him releasing a small sigh before he was enveloped in a tight hug by the lady. I laughed at the look on his face but found myself melting at the sight of him kissing her forehead when they pulled away. "I miss you, baby brother."

"Yoora, you saw me a few nights ago." Chanyeol deadpanned.

Yoora, Chanyeol's sister and only sibling in the world, scoffed at this. "I didn't know that a few weeks ago equavalents to a few nights. Seriously, Yeol, can't you see the difference?" I was unable to stiffle my laughter at this and she turned to me with wide eyes, apparently only noticing my presence then. "Oh, you're Chanyeol's PA, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

I flustered at this.

"Wow, rude much?" Chanyeol scoffed as Yoora gave me an apologetic smile before approaching me. I felt myself going stiff when he placed an arm around my waist and he obviously felt it too, so he moves his hand up until it was holding onto my shoulder with a soft caress with his thumb. "Yoora, you obviously remember my PA, Valerie Kim? But I brought her here this time not as my employee, but as my girlfriend."

"What?" Her eyes widened comically at this before a huge smile decorated her face. I winced when she suddenly let out a squeal. "Oh my god, finally!"

Chanyeol and I exchanged glances at this. "Uh, Yoora? Are you okay?"

The soon-to-be bride stopped squealing at this and grinned mischievously at our confused expression. "I'm fine, Yeol. I'm just happy for you," she said and grabbed my hand. "Come, everyone's been dying to meet you."

Before I could grasped onto anything, I was pulled into the villa with Chanyeol quickly running after me.

Baehyun glanced at the frozen man standing next to him. He felt pity for his younger cousin at the moment, but he knew that it wasn't going to help in this situation. Gently, he placed a hand on the other's shoulder and Sehun turned to him with a disbelief look on his face.

"T-That was Ahyoung," he stuttered. Baekhyun nodded at this. "She's here at our family's villa."

"Yes she is, Sehun."

"I thought I'd never see her again," Sehun whispered, his eyes flicking back to where Valerie had just stood. "I can't believe that she's here."

"Sehun, she's here with Chanyeol." Baekhyun reminded him, and Sehun's delighted expression suddenly disappeared as he turned back to the elder. "You heard them earlier, didn't you? Chanyeol introduced Valerie Kim as his girlfriend."

Sehun frowned deeply at this and shook his head in denial. "But Chanyeol never gets into relationships. All he does is around," he breathed and suddenly froze. "What if he's just ing around with Ahyoung too? What if-"

"Don't, Sehun." Baekhyun warned him. "Don't think like that. It's been a while since we last saw Chanyeol. He must've changed his perceptive about relationships. He wouldn't bring Valerie over to meet his family if he was just messing with her."

"No, I doubt Chanyeol would suddenly change his mind like that," Sehun argued. "It's Chanyeol we're talking about here."

"Yes, I know that." Baekhyun argued back. He didn't like the way Sehun was talking about Chanyeol since they were close cousins. "People change, Sehun. Remember that. I'm sure you should know better."

Sehun winced sharply at the reminder. Baekhyun sighed in guilt and rubbed the back of the other's back apologetically, and the younger briefly glanced at him before walking away.

Honestly, Valerie wasn't ready to meet Chanyeol's family. But yet here she was being dragged to the family room where the elders were gathered. Just as they approached the closed door, she abruptly pulled her hand from Yoora's grip and stopped walking, surprising the older woman who turned around. Yoora saw the pale look on her face and smiled softly.

"It's okay, Valerie. They're going to love you," she assured the younger.

Chanyeol appeared from behind Valerie and gave his sister a stern look. "Give her a minute, Yoora. Just go in first. I'll bring her inside once she's ready," he told her.

Yoora stared at her brother, surprised by the protectiveness in his tone. She smiled softly and nodded her head before walking away. Chanyeol let out a soft sigh and went to stand in front of the frozen woman, and she lifted her head when she felt his hand on her arm.

"You can still walk away," he whispered to her.

Valerie stared into his eyes and suddenly felt the calming urge oozing from him, and she let out a breath she didn't know she's been holding in. Instinctively, she pulled her arm away from his soft grip and surprised him by holding onto his hand, interlacing their fingers together. Chanyeol could feel the tremble in her body and knew that she was desperate for assurance.

"Val, can I hug you?" he asked quietly, his gaze softening as he stared into her trembling orbs.

She stared wordlessly at him for a moment before slowly nodding her head, and Chanyeol smiled assuringly at her before pulling her closer to him. His arms wrapped around her tense shoulders, and he tentatively rubbed her back to calm her. Soon, she began to relax in his arms and wrapped her own around his waist. He heard her release a shuddering breath, and immediately he felt guilty for bringing her into his mess.

"Hey Channie, I think we should meet everyone now."

Chanyeol blinked in surprise at this before pulling away. He saw the blush on Valerie's face even though she had her face ducked down. He scoffed. "Channie?"

Valerie looked up and suddenly she doesn't look too shy anymore. She shrugged. "I needed to give you a convincing pet name," she said before grabbing his hand again. "Should we meet your family now?"

Chanyeol smiled softly and rubbed the back of her hand soothingly. "Yeah. Let's go."

Valerie nervously stepped alongside Chanyeol as they entered the room, and her grip on his hand tightened when all conversations stopped and heads turned to them. She swallowed hard at this and tried hard to focus on the soothing circles Chanyeol was drawing at the back of her hand in order to calm herself.

The man glanced at the tensed female beside him for a moment, took a deep breath and turned back to his family. "Hey, guys. I'm home."

The meeting with his family went smoothly much to Valerie's delight. His mother was definitely delighted to finally meet her son's 'girlfriend', and his father had welcomed her with a soft smile which made her think of her own father. Luckily, Chanyeol's aunts and uncles weren't expected at the villa until a few days later, so she only had to deal with the man's parents and his sister. Valerie wondered where his grandmother was but figured that it was best she was not around at the moment because if it's true that she was grouchy, Valerie needed time to prepare herself.

"Why don't you go rest first, dear?" Mrs. Park said after the introductions were long done. "I bet you must be tired from the long trip. We can always talk again later."

"I was actually thinking of showing her around first," Chanyeol interrupted. 

"That could wait," his father told him. "Let Valerie rest first."

"Actually, I'd like to see the garden if you don't mind." Valerie smiled before Chanyeol could retort to his father's words. "Chanyeol told me about this huge maze in the garden and I've been dying to see it."

How did she know there was a maze in our garden? Chanyeol wondered to himself before they excused themselves. He decided to ask her just that as they stepped outside the room, making her chuckle.

"I overheard you and Jongin talking about it once. If I'm not mistaken, you were chasing after him there after he made fun of your pet ferret and you lost him in the maze."

Chanyeol made a face at the memory. "The brat spends his time going through the maze every day when we were kids. He knew all the turns and used it to his advantage."

"And you're going to take me there where we could get lost?"

He laughed. "I'm taller now so I could peer over the hedges and find the way around. Plus, you asked for it."

Valerie couldn't help but laugh at this. They finally reached the back garden and Valerie's jaw dropped at the sight of different flowers being planted around. There were pink roses, red roses, yellow daffodils and more, and her eyes widened when they finally reached the maze. There were two entrances into the maze, both connecting after a few turns inside.

"There's a small fountain right in the middle of this maze," Chanyeol informed her. "Do you want to separate ways here and meet there?"

Her eyes twinkled at this. "Let's race. The one who arrives first gets to fulfill the other's wish."

Chanyeol laughed. "Deal."

"Ready? Set, go!"

And they both race into the maze - Chanyeol taking the left route while she went through the right - and she laughed at the thrill. It's like I'm a child again, she thought. She could hear his own laughter in the air and quickly zapped around the maze, trying to find the fountain. She took a wrong turn and was met with a dead end, and she quickly ran the opposite way in order to look for the fountain. Valerie was slightly panting due to the adrenaline and just as she was about to stop to take a breather, she heard the soft sound of water and her eyes widened in delight. She followed along the straight path and came into a clearing where the fountain was.

And there stood a man she never thought she'd see ever again.

The excited smile disappeared from her face as their eyes met. Her breathe hitched when the man took a step forward, eyes full of emotions that sickened her. The man tried to take another step towards her, and Valerie suddenly found the voice she's been trying to find earlier.

"Stay away from me, Sehun."

Author's note:

07.02.15

I removed the Complete sign because this story is obviously incomplete. I'll put it up again when I'm done revamping this story. Please leave comments, guys. There are so many of you here, and it disappoints me not to hear a word from you guys. I hope the reason you guys aren't commenting is not because this story , because if it is do tell me.