Mina's POV~

Morning had come and I woke up alone in bed; it was quiet in the house. Usually, I'd hear Baekhyun laughing out in the living room and Bacon barking, but it was dead silent. It's been awhile since I've been left alone in silence and I still remember why I hate the silence...because I'm all alone and it's scary being alone. Oddly, though, I felt fine with this silence...maybe because there was something in me that knew I wasn't going to be alone for long. Maybe cause I knew Baekhyun was coming back to me that I didn't need to feel alone.

I stretched in bed and slowly sat up to wake myself up some more. I yawned and finally got out of bed and headed into the bathroom to see a sticky note on the mirror:

I decided to let you sleep in since you were up til 4:30 in the morning. I'll update you on Bacon's appointment at the clinic when I get back after running my errand. I did make you breakfast and trust me, I didn't add in any soup base. Fill yourself up and I'll be home at noon to pick you up. We'll stop by a candy store or something to get gifts for the kids and Junior. And as always, I love you, so does Bacon, but I love you more. -Baekhyun and Bacon

There was a warm feeling in my chest and I stuck the note back on the mirror when I saw myself smiling. My smile faded and I touched my lips...it was still weird to see myself smile. Was I really that happy? Does a smile indicate that I am happy? I sighed and focused on washing up.

After washing up, I decided to let my overnight curls fall loose over my shoulders and since it was getting colder out, I layered up a bit to keep myself warm. Once I got dressed, I headed out to the tiny dining area and saw bowls covered in tin foil. I unwrapped one of the bowls and saw that it was the left over soup from last night. I snickered and thought he had really made me breakfast, but this was good enough; he tried. I unwrapped the rest and it was just dried seaweed, kimchi and rice...again, he tried.

I had to heat up the soup again since it was cold, then took a seat to enjoy my meal. It was actually a nice breakfast without Baekhyun or Bacon in the house, I felt pretty content being home alone. I looked at the clock as I was eating and I had another 2 hours or so until Baekhyun came home. I thought of what to do to kill time, but there isn't much you can do in a tiny apartment.

I finished eating and cleaned everything up, then sat back down at the dining table searching up gifts for kids, relating to soccer. A lot of it had soccer balls, but I can't buy them all soccer balls; I'm sure they have their own anyways. None of the gift ideas looked appealing to me and a lot of them would require money, which was something I didn't have at the moment since Mrs. Kim cancelled all my credit cards. I sighed and stood up looking through the cupboards and cabinets to see if I had any baking ingredients; maybe baking cookies was the best option. I wasn't able to find any cookie mix, which meant I had to bake from scratch. I've never baked from scratch before, but it can't be that hard if I've already got all the ingredients I would need.

I looked up the ingredients and steps to making cookies from scratch and started making my first batch of cookies. As I thought, it wasn't hard at all to bake from scratch; I was able to get the sugar cookie dough perfect and popped them into the oven once I had shaped them into balls. When they finished baking and cooled down, I used icing to create soccer balls and continued to make more.

Baking, decoration and cleaning took over two hours of my time and I heard the door beep open. I was in the middle of wiping the floor when Baekhyun walked in with Bacon in his arm.

"Wow, Sleeping Beauty turned into Cinderella," Baekhyun teased with a smirk and I rolled my eyes. He set Bacon down and the little fella skipped to me. Although it's only been a few hours, I hugged the little one. "You could've at least cleaned up after yourself."

Baekhyun knelt down and wiped flour off my cheeks, "You're covered all over the place."

"It just shows how productive I was today," I said and he chuckled. "How'd his appointment go?"

"Geez, I get home and the first thing you think about is him," he scoffed, obviously jealous. "Give me a hug too and I'll tell you the details."

I looked at him hoping he was kidding and turned my attention back to Bacon, saying to him, "I think he needs to get checked too, don't you think?"

"Yah," he pouted and crossed his arms. "I'm not even expecting you to do anything like that...not yet at least."

He stood up and helped clean the table as I put Bacon down to play with his toys.

"Bacon had his shots and monthly check up, which the results showed that he's perfecly healthy," he said and stacked the dirty bowls ontop of one another. "The doctor also recommended us to neuter him just in case."

"That's fine," I said and started to wash the dishes that piled up in he sink. "We'll have to schedule an appointment for that."

Baekhyun didn't say anything else and I continued to do the dishes as he looked at the cookies.

"Are these even edible?" he asked and I glared at him over my shoulders. "Joking, just joking."

"If you're so supsicious then eat one and tell me how it is," I said and he was quick to take one. He took a bite and just chewed, nodding his head.

"Eh, it's edible," he snickered and stood besides me, leaning against the counter. He held the cookie to my lips and said, "Why don't you have a bite."

I took a small bite and it didn't taste bad at all. Sure, it's not as good as the ones in stores, but still edible. The icing is what saved the dry sugar cookie. Baekhyun finished the last bit of it and searched for some tubleware to put the cookies in until we go to the store to buy tiny gift bags.

I finished cleaning the sink and table, then took off my apron and headband. Baekhyun was getting Bacon ready by putting on his tiny custom made jersey of the kids' soccer team and we headed out once we were done with what we were doing.

The three of us stepped out and Baekhyun grabbed my hand in his. I looked up at him surprised, but I shouldn't really be because it's not the first time for us. He interlaced our fingers and we walked out of the building hand-in-hand. The place that the game was being held at was within walking distance so we didn't have a need to take the car.

We walked down the streets and you could tell Fall was here. It really was getting chilly out here, the trees were already "" with not a single leaf hanging. I wouldn't be surprised if Winter started tomorrow.

"You know," Baekhyun started to talk on our nice, quiet walk. "It's starting to feel like we're really dating."

"But we're not," I quickly denied it. He chuckled and tightened his grip on my hands.

"That may be true, but I'm sure we look like we are to others walking by," he said and I could not imagine anything more cheesy coming out of his mouth. He stopped walking and faced towards a window as I did too. I could see our reflection and he was smiling. "Don't we look like a couple like this?"

I looked at the reflection and we really did look like a couple who was out on a walk with their dog, which was exactly what we were doing...except the dating part. I've never fully became aware of how we looked if we held hands until this point. Is this how a couple looks? Do we really look like we're dating to others like what Baekhyun said?

"I think we suit each other," he continued to smile through the reflection of the window and I looked up at him as he looked down to me. "What do you think?"

My heart thumped and I turned away saying, "I think we should hurry to the gift shop to get some bags for the cookies."

I didn't let him say another word and led him to the shop a few blocks down the street. We got to the store and I was quick to separate from him as he was tying Bacon up at the front. I looked around the store for goodie bags when I caught sight of Baekhyun entering the store, looking at the other gifts.

Honestly, what do I think about us? I haven't thought about it much. Do I think we suit each other like he claims we do? Do I think a relationship will really form out of this like he does? Can I imagine a life with him like how he can imagine a life with me?

The real question is...can I imagine a life without him?

He looked my way and smiled, warmly, at me; I gave a soft smile back and turned away to focus on the goodie bags I thought would be the best to display the cookies.

"Mina," I heard Baekhyun's voice behind me and I turned around to see a completely different person...or not. He laughed like a kid as he was wearing those glasses that had the huge nose and a mustache attached to it. He looked funny in it that I laughed a bit, but of course I was trying to control myself.

"What's with the new look," I said and he took off the glasses.

"It suits me, doesn't it?" he laughed and I shook my head in disbelief. "Maybe I'll buy it."

"Why? It'd be a waste of money," I giggled and he smiled.

"If it means to see you smile and laugh then it's totally worth it," he said and cleared my throat, going back to my normal self. He sighed seeing that I was trying to control my emotions and he brushed his hand against my cheek. "I like seeing you smile and laugh because it tells me you're happy. Don't hold yourself back."

I didn't say anything and randomly grabbed a few goodie bags, then walked towards the register when I caught a glimpse of tiny trophies. They were noticably fake gold, but still quite adorable; I'd have no use for them though, so I went to the register and saw Baekyun walk out to sit with Bacon against the store wall.

Can I live my life without you? Would I be able to laugh and smile freely without him? Honestly...can I ever be apart from him?

I paid for the items and joined the boys outside, then we continued our walk to the place of the game. While walking, I put two tiny cookies in each bag while Baekhyun was my eyes so that I wouldn't run into anything or anyone, but of course, he led me to a tree or pole once...maybe twice. He'd laugh about it and I'd chase him with Bacon; he seriously gets on my nerves sometimes.

Baekhyun's POV~

She really hates me now, but at least she's able to freely express her anger, right? When we got to the place of the tournament, she was a completely different person as she was being gentle with the kids. I stood alone on the sidelines when Junior came to me from the side.

"I'm glad you guys were able to make it," he smiled and I smiled back.

"Wouldn't miss it," I said and looked back at the kids.

"They really worked hard for Mina," he continued. "She was always so honest with them every time she came to see them back then and we both know, sometimes her honesty can be too much."

I snickered, agreeing with him.

"I just hope they won't let her down," he said and I glanced a him as his attention was on his team. Anyone could tell how much he cares for the kids. "Well, anyways, how is Mina?"

I smiled and answered, "She's not the same person anymore, that's for sure."

"I can tell," he snickered and I watched Mina hand out the cookies. "She seems...more at ease."

"That's true, but I wished she was able to express more of herself," I said and there was a cold breeze.

"What do you mean?" he asked and I sighed.

"There are times when she acts tough, but I know there are times when she really wants to cry her heart out," I said as memories of her past self flooded in. "There are also times when she wants to laugh and smile...to be happy, but she keeps holding herself back. I don't know why...I'm always wondering, what more can I do to see her at her saddest time? To see her happiest time? To see her be herself?"

There was silence between us, but he started to talk and said, "Maybe she's holding herself back because she's not sure whether or not she'll be with you forever. Think of it this way, why show your true self to someone whom you won't be with til death? You may think it's absurd, but it is Mina we are talking about...she has her own way of seeing things and I believe what I said previously is her way of thinking."

What he said seemed right...Mina always had a deep way of thinking things, but that only brought more questions. Does that mean that she doesn't see me in her future?

Just the thought of it brought a heavy load on my chest.

"Junior, let's warm up the kids! Game starts in 10!" the other coach shouted and Junior patted my back.

"Don't think too hard about it, just enjoy the moments you have now with her," he said and jogged off to join the team. I sighed and took a seat in the stands with Mina soon joining me. I looked down at her and she was focused on the team; I shouldn't think too deep into this...it'll only make me lose hope.

The game began in less than 10 minutes and there were cheers coming from both sides of the team. The parents of the kids were aggressive with their shouting, the only quiet ones were Mina and I; even Bacon was barking. We watched the game, intensely, and jumped everytime someone made a score on our team, but we weren't in the lead. Because these players were only kids, the game in total was half an hour, so at the half-time break (15 minutes), they were already exhaused. Not to mention, it was cold out and I could see their nose running, which interferes with their breathing.

Once their break was over, they resumed the game and I was getting anxious. Mina was too, I could tell when she starts to fiddle with her fingers...her facial expression gave it away too. The ball was passed back and forth and the other teamed made continous scores. There was still 7 minutes left until the game was over and Mina couldn't take it anymore, so she stood up and shouted, "Fighting! You can do it!"

I wasn't sure if the kids heard or not, but they continued on with the game with much enthusiasm. I joined in on cheering them on, but once the game was over, I could only look at their disappointed faces.

"They were only one point away from winning," Mina softly said. I looked at her and she had tears in her eyes. "They worked so hard."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and hugged her.

"They did their best," I comforted her and she nodded, agreeing with me.

Once the field had cleared, we went to the team and they were visibily upset, but still smiling. They apologized to Mina that she had to see them lose like that and she didn't say anything...she wasn't mad though, she was silent because she didn't know whta to say to them without breaking into tears.

"Even if we lost, you all still did your best out there and nothing is cooler than seeing you all like that," Junior encouraged them and they nodded. "Why don't we head over to my family resturaunt? Dinner is on me!"

The kids cheered and we all relocated to Junior's resturaunt, but Mina was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared as soon as we got to the place and when I tried to call her, she didn't pick up. I had only hoped that she wasn't alone, crying. But something told me she didn't run away, she was coming back, I was sure of it. Even if it meant that an hour had passed, I was sure she was coming back and sure enough, she was back with her hands full, breathing heavily.

"Noona, where'd you go?"

"We thought you left because you were mad that we lost."

"We were worried about you."

Many of the kids spoke at once when they saw her and she set the bags on the floor, taking out whatever was in it. They were tiny trophies with all the kids name written on it and a piece of paper rolled up in the trophie, possibly a note from her. She handed out the trophies one by one and when she was done she finally spoke, "I'm not mad at all that you lost. I am extremely proud of all of you because you gave it your all. You're all winners to me and I hope that next year, you'll win ever single game. Don't be upset or disappointed because we're all proud of you."

The kids were touched and gave her a massive group hug...even I was touched to see this side of her. She looked over to me and waved me over to her, so I got up and walked up to her. She reached in her bag and pulled out the glasses I tried on earlier that made her laugh.

"Put these on," she mouth and I looked at her to confirm that she really wanted me to put them on. "You want to see me smile, don't you?"

I looked at the glasses and put them on as she told me to do. The kids were quick to notice and they began to smile and laugh as they teased me. They were no longer upset...it's like their lost never happened and nothing's better than seeing the pure smile of a child.

Mina didn't buy these glasses for me to make her happy, she bought them so I could make the kids' happy, that way she'd be happy. Seeing her like this made me remind myself that I really am overthinking things because I'm confident that in the end, she'll be mine and she'll share all the emotions she's bottled up. I just have to enjoy these moments and not think of the moments we'll have in our future.