"Don't forget: somewhere between hello and goodbye, there was love, so much love."
— Anonymous

After dealing with the interruption that ended the preposterous dialogue with her witch of a mother, Seo Ara decided to remain in the shadows and designate her orders from backstage. It wasn't her usual approach to overseeing her events, but she needed to save the last drop of energy for the most painful part of the night: personally escorting the newlyweds to their honeymoon suite.

Having spent the past hour and a half loitering in the banquet kitchen, Ara took a moment to wander the empty halls for a change of scenery. She needed to reel in every ounce of strength she could muster, and prepare herself for the unavoidable and surely painful reunion, but it was proving to be close to impossible.

Her limbs were heavy. Her head was pounding. And her heart…

"Ara?" she heard a faint yet familiar voice enter her ears.

At the mention of her name, Ara shifted her downcast eyes from the white marbled floor to the individual in the black tuxedo standing some distance in front of her—the glimmer of hope that could save Junmyeon from the unnecessary heartache that had already consumed her.

"What—what are you doing here?" a confused Baekhyun asked, his brows slightly knitted. He knew his wife was coming back tonight, but he didn't expect to see her until much later, possibly even tomorrow morning, so the fact that she was blindly walking towards him, seemingly lost in thought, took him by complete surprise. Moreover, she was dressed as if—

"Are you working right now?" Baekhyun clarified in disbelief.

He was well aware Ara excelled in her profession. She took her job seriously. She worked hard and efficiently without objection. She was model employee overall, but Baekhyun also knew her devotion to work was levels below what he was witnessing at the moment. There was no way in hell Ara would've willingly volunteered to manage tonight's promotional event—not after she just spent three grueling weeks as a co-lead of the Jeju opening team, immediately followed by a tiring four-hour return flight to Seoul.

"Don't tell me they scheduled you to work tonight's event?" he continued, quickly realizing some other factors were at play. But as he closed the small gap between them, Baekhyun slowed his pace.

Ara was not only visibly fatigued, but painted on her face was an expression he hadn't yet seen until now. It was an expression that coated him with curiosity. An expression that filled him with worry. And one that made his heart ache without even knowing why.

The Seo Ara standing before him was not the same button-pushing, confident, and charismatic woman who had skillfully maneuvered through his defenses and etched herself into his mind. Her usual playful gaze was gray and empty. Her teasing smirk was nonexistent. And her aura—that spellbinding, enigmatic aura of hers—only emitted emotional pain.

"Are you…okay?" he asked cautiously, but with audible concern.

Ara peeled her eyes away from his gaze and lowered her head slightly. "I…I have a favor to ask," she started, her voice faint and hesitant, "Would it be possible…for you…to, um, take the couple to the Meridian Suite, in my stead?"

Taken aback, Baekhyun tilted his head in question. It wasn't like her to ask for favors, even at work—but then again, the woman in front of him wasn't the Ara he was familiar with. "Uh…" he replied, glancing at his watch. He wouldn't have minded doing what she asked, except he didn’t really have a lot time to spare at the moment.

But before he could proceed, Secretary Kim unintentionally interjected from behind. "The car is waiting outside the lobby General Manager Byun," she informed him as she gathered the ends of her rose gold gown to allow for longer strides, her eyes set on the task. "I just confirmed that the Minister of Tourism is also on his way to the gala now," she continued, finally lifting her head to face her superior.

At the sight of the charismatic Ms. Seo, the newly promoted assistant flashed a beaming smile. "Welcome back Director—" she greeted with excitement, but one glimpse at Ara's forearm halted her words and made her eyes pop in horror.

"Director Seo your arm!" Secretary Kim exclaimed, guiding Baekhyun's gaze to the four large bruises where Ara had dug her fingernails earlier. They had purple centers, each with a connected ring of citrine yellow turning darker by the hour.

Ara glanced at her arm and immediately rolled down her sleeves in silence. She didn't have the energy to explain, let alone make up an excuse as to why there was evidence of trauma on her flesh.

"Go. I'll follow shortly," Baekhyun began, ending the stillness and instructing his worried assistant to leave. Once alone, he gently reached for his wife's arm, hoping to take a closer look, but she quietly pulled away and stepped back.

Ara met her husband's concerned eyes and flashed a false smile. She should've realized from the start, based on his attire, that he had a prior commitment, one that was of importance. "Please forget I said anything," she stated almost in a whisper before turning to leave.

|| …………… ||

Gaze set on the u