Baekhyun's POV~

My father hadn't gotten any better since that incident and we eventually moved him back home where he can rest in peace. He's been very weak and he's aged quite a bit over the weeks. His face had slimmed down as he was not able to consume much food; he needed an oxygen mask when he wasn't getting enough and he couldn't say much because he was so weak.

Mr. Kim was our primary doctor and so he would come by when he was free to check up on abeoji; everytime I questioned him about abeoji's condition, he would change the subject or tell me he's trying to figure it out. Every word that came out of mouth angered me...he was the doctor here, not us. But, I couldn't let my anger out on Dr. Kim, not yet at least, because keeping the company in check was still important. Ever since the news broke out that my father was officially on temporary leave, the Byun Group had become chaotic and I couldn't focus only on abeoji; it was my duty now to keep everyone calm and to continue on with what my father left.

Mina, on the other hand, has been doing her best to stay calm, but there are still times where I catch her panicking when abeoji is gasping or gagging. She's doing the best she can to keep me going throughout the day too and to give umma emotional support when she's exhausted. If this incident had happened earlier into our relationship, I don't know how Mina would have reacted or how she would have treated my family, but that doesn't matter now. The Mina I see now is enough for me to know that even in our early, hateful relationship she would've still cared for them just as much as I do.

Mrs. Kim had been showing up at the company numerous times already, not just once a day, but maybe even three times a day. I don't have the time to chat with her, but when I do ask why she's here, she simply replies with, "I'm here to help you, Baekhyun-ah"; I don't need your help at all. She's basically running the company as she has been giving orders to the other staffs when I'm busy with my work and meetings, but she needs to understand that this is my father's company, not hers. But, of course, she doesn't see that as I already know she's after the Byun Group.

"Baekhyun-ssi, we need your approval to recieve these materials from overseas for your project in Japan," Secretary Moon said as I was finally coming back into reality from my thoughts. "I've gone over this information with the owner of the company, we just need you to look it over to see if we'd like to ship these items into Korea to use for the project later on in Japan."

I sighed and looked at the paper he placed in front of me. I skimmed over the document as I've already seen it five times and I grabbed a black ball pen to sign it.

"Send it in by the end of today and I'll give them a call to thank them," I said and handed it to him, shifting my attention to the loads of emails on my computer. He bowed and walked away before turning around.

"By the way, your wife dropped off a lunch box for you," he said from where he was standing; he knew Mina and I weren't married, but he still addresses her as my wife...I'm not complaining though. I looked up from the screen and he was already out the door to retrieve it. It wasn't long when he came back in with a huge lunch box and had set it on my coffee table by the couch.

"Let me guess, it's lunch and dinner?" I asked with a snort.

"She said that you've been going home late, so she decided to pack both," he replied and bowed before leaving me alone in my office.

I got up from my seat and snickered as I walked to the lunch box. As always, there was a simple note attached to it: Hang in there, Baekhyun.

I felt a warm sensation flow through me and I taped the note along with the dozens of others next to my desk. I headed back over to the couch and sat down to enjoy my lunch just when there was a knock at the door.

"Baekhyun-ssi," I heard my recieptionist call out from the other side of the door.

"Yes?" I replied and stood up.

"You've got a call from Mr. Matsuzaki on line one," she said and I sighed, setting my chopsticks down.

"Got it," I answered and went to answer the call.

Mina's POV~

I was out on a walk with Bacon and Junior as the weather was nice out; not too hot and not too cold. It was actually only supposed to be me and Bacon, but Junior was off work and it's been awhile since I've seen him, so I decided it was okay for him to join us. We strolled alongside the Han River just talking about the kids from his soccer team and how they were doing; I did miss them since soccer season was over a long time ago.

"...sadly, Seunghwan moved to Busan, so he won't be joining us next year," Junior continued to talk about the kids.

"That's too bad, he was one of the best," I said with a sigh. "But Eunwoo will be back, right? He was really good at making scores."

"For sure!" Junior grinned and he explained to me how the kids were excited to start soccer again next spring-summer. But, they were more excited to see me again, or so I've heard from Junior. We continued walking and talking until we reached near his family restaurant, so we decided to grab an early dinner there.

We left Bacon at the back and grabbed a table in the main area. His mother greeted me happily as it's been awhile since we've met.

"My, you look so much slimmer from the last time we met," she said as she grabbed my wrist, wrapping her whole hand it...that's how thin my wrist was. "Thank goodness Junior brought you in, we have to fatten you up."

Junior and I chuckled at her words. She let me go and smiled, "You really do look thin though, is everything alright?"

I looked at her with a soft smile and nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine. You can say, I'm on a diet."

That was an obvious lie and she knew that, but she didn't press on any further.

"Well, today is your cheat day, so I'll bring everything on the menu!" she grinned and I lightly laughed.

"Just bring me the best," I said and she nodded with a wink. It was her way of saying, "you got it". I sighed once she left and took a sip of my water. I looked up from my drink and saw Junior staring at me with a concerned look on. I knew what he was going to say.

"Is Baekhyun's father not recovering very well?" he asked, just as I had suspected. I took another sip of my water and set the glass cup down.

"You know, you shouldn't speak of other's business out loud," I said, not trying to be rude to him, but I didn't want others around us to hear about Mr. Byun's condition.

"Ah...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," he said, but he's a smart guy so he knew my emotions were connected to Mr. Byun's situation...part of it at least.

"I know you weren't trying to be," I softly said and forced a smile. "So, I heard you're applying for college hoping to attend next fall?"

He looked at me surprised and chuckled, "How'd you hear that?"

"Your mother spilled out your secret not too long ago when you were bringing Bacon to the back," I said and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"She really doesn't know anything about secrets, does she?" he chuckled again and I leaned over the table to hear him tell me about his plans. "But, yeah, I'm applying for college."

"That's great, Junior," I said with a smile. "What are you going for?"

He smiled and shrugged, "I'm thinking about business and cooking."

I looked at him confused...I thought he'd do something related to soccer. He read my expression and snickered.

"There are times when you have to make sacrifices, you know," he said with a faint smile. "Being the only son, yet alone, the only child...someone has to take over this place."

He looked around his surroundings as he spoke with that same smile and he looked at his mother, who was assisting another table with a bright smile on her face.

"My parents love this place and so do I," he conintued. "It's our home, our memories are here; my childhood is here. They've been running this place since they got married, so over 20 years now...they'd be devastated if they lost this place. I don't want them to feel that way, you know? So I decided to go with business so that I can properly run this restaurant and decided on cooking so that I won't burn this place down, but I'll still stick to the family recipes; the customers love my father's cooking."

He chuckled at the last words and I did too. He then turned to me and said, "I love soccer and I have the passion to become a soccer player one day, but I also love my parents and their passion to serve the locals here. Even if they were to have another child older than me or even younger, I still would give up my dream to keep my parents dream alive."

I looked at his expression and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he smiled softly at me. Who would've thought sacrifices was this painful....

"Are you keeping their dream alive because you feel...I don't know...pressured to do it?" I asked, trying to be as careful with my words as possible. He looked at me with that same sad expression and shook his head.

"I don't feel pressured to do so at all," he replied and we heard his mother laughing with the other customers. We both looked at her and he smiled a real smile, "I'm doing it for that smile and that laugh."

I looked at him then back at her. She really did have a jolly smile, one that would make anyone smile if they saw her smile.

"I mean, it'd be a lie if I didn't feel pressured to keep this place alive, but I remind myself that at the end of it all, I'm rewarded with their smiles," he said and looked at me; there was no sadness in him anymore. "The people I've told this to have said that I'm crazy, but I live for my parents. I can always play soccer and coach the team, but if I were to leave this place then I wouldn't be able to see such happiness within them anymore."

"So you decided to sacrifice your dream to see them happy...?" I asked and he nodded.

"If that's how you see it then you're right," he smiled. "Sacrifices aren't always painful; sometimes they help you realize what makes you truly happy."

What makes you truly happy...huh....

"But don't tell my parents either, they don't know I'm going to school for business and cooking; they think I'm going to become a soccer player. I want to surprise them when I graduate," he said with a wink and just then, Mrs. Park came to us with a cart load of food.

"I'm sorry for keeping you both waiting! My husband really wanted to make your dishes with the best flavors!" she grinned and started placing the dishes neatly on our table.

"There's no need to be sorry, I'm sure the food would have been fantastic regardless," I smiled and she placed the last dish on the table. I will say, it was a bit too much food for only two people, but when Mrs. Park says she's going to feed you the whole menu, she means it.

"Please enjoy it!" she beamed and walked off to serve the rest of the customers. I looked at the food with wide eyes and laughed in disbelief alongn with Junior.

"Gosh, even I haven't seen any of these dishes; who knows if they're even on the menu," he laughed and continued to stare at the food, thinking this was a dream. "C' mon, let's dig in while it's still warm. It's best when freshly cooked."

I snickered and grabbed my chopsticks, digging in. Everything was heaven in my mouth, from savoury to sweet. Maybe we will finish everything on this table.

I don't know how long it's been, but it felt like hours until we were full. We didn't finish everything, but we did eat quite a bit; maybe a bit too much for just two people. Junior and I could barely move as we leaned back into our seats.

"I'm feeling sick all of a sudden," I said and he chuckled.

"I'm with you there," he said and rubbed his stomach. "Wanna hang out upstairs to let your stomach rest?"

I forgot that their house was attached to the restaurant and I looked at the time on the clock. It was a little past 8 P.M and I felt that it was better to rest at home, who knew if Baekhyun would be coming home early or not either.

"Thanks for the offer," I said, struggling to get up. "But I should go home. I still have to feed Bacon too."

"Alright, I'll drive you home then," he said and stood up. I was about to refuse, but he held a finger up to his lips telling me to not even try to reject his offer. "I'll go pack these for you to take home and get Bacon for you. You can wait outside for me, my car's parked right in front of the doors."

I nodded and went to say goodbye to Mrs. Park; she saw me approaching her and smiled.

"Thank you for dinner, it was more than I could handle, but it was delicious," I said.

"No problem, come by anytime with or without Junior," she said and I pulled out my wallet. "Oh dear, this one is on the house."

"But-"

"It's alright, Mina," she smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a comforting squeeze. "You really did seem down today, so I wanted to at least make you happy with food. I don't know what's going on, but don't miss a meal."

I smiled and nodded, thanking her. She wrapped her arms around my back and hugged me, taking me by surprise.

"Whatever it is, hang in there," she said and rubbed my back.

"Thank you," I softly said and we pulled away from each other. "I'll make sure to pay for my next meal though. See you again."

She nodded and I left the restaurant, heading towards what I think is Junior's car; it was the only one right in front of the doors. Once I was a step away from the car, the windows started to roll down and I stepped back in shock. This is definitely not his car.

I stepped back and thought about turning around to go back and wait in the waiting area, but the person in the car made me freeze up.

"My, my, what a surprise to see you at this dump," Mrs. Kim snickered, not looking at me, but at the restaurant behind me. "But I guess it suits you."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, feeling my blood race with anger. I haven't seen or heard from her in weeks and seeing her now pissed me off. "Are you stalking me again?!"

"Dear, I don't waste my precious time on you anymore," she scoffed and held up a thick envelope. "I have business here."

"What business?" I asked, suspicious of her.

"None of yours, that's for sure," she said with an eye roll and stepped out of the car with one of her butlers coming to her side. She walked up to me and whispered into my hear, "How's that father of Baekhyun's doing? I've heard he's really ill."

Hearing that, I felt my pulse race and I glared at her. She looked at me with a smile before walking off.

"Why don't you ask that precious husband of yours? He's Mr. Byun's doctor afterall," I said, looking over my shoulder. She scoffed and crossed her arms with her right hips popping out to the side.

"I would ask, but he's wasting his time with Mr. Byun that I hardly ever see him," she said with a scoff.

"Don't tell me, you know how to feel lonely?" I scoffed and walked towards her. "You never really cared for his existence either, did you? Even when he's wasting his time with Mr. Byun, you don't care whether he's in bed with you or not, huh? You probably already have another man in your life."

She smirked and glared at me, "You really like spitting out nonsense, don't you? But that's expected from someone's who's stupid and doesn't know anything about love."

I have to say, she hit me with that one hard. I clenched my jaw and swallowed hard with my eyebrows furrowed.

"Before you start accusing me of never caring for my husband's existence and for having another man in my life, why don't you question yourself first. Baekhyun doesn't exist in your life and you're already seeing another man behind his back," she said and her head nodded in the right direction. I turned my head and saw Junior coming our way with Bacon. "Your standards just gets lower and lower."

"He's a friend," I growled and she snickered.

"A friend?" she laughed in disbelief. "Darling, you don't have any friends. The only friends you have are the ones you with, like the ones who are still hanging around at the hotel you supposedly adore. You know, they've been missing you a lot."

I didn't know how to respond to her...I guess I really haven't changed...I still stay quiet when she's around.

"Mina!" Junior's voice snapped me out of it and I noticed he was now standing besides me. "Hmmm, I guess my parents moved my car to the other side of the street."

"You never really cared for Baekhyun, did you? Even when he's working so hard to provide for you and his family, you don't care do you? You probably already have another man in your life," she grinned and looked at Junior. I stood there frozen when I was blocked by a slim figure.

"That was awfully rude of you to say that to her," Junior firmly said.

"I'm only keeping my daughter in check," she said and turned around, walking off towards the restaurant.

"I don't care if she's your daughter or not, don't speak to her like that," Junior said and she stopped in her tracks, but she didn't turn around. "I may not be in the position to say this, but Mina cares for Baekhyun and he cares for her. And for me, I want nothing more than a friendship...if anything, Mina is like a younger sister that I cherish."

"Such childish words," she scoffed and walked into the restaurant. Junior sighed, loudly, and turned to me.

"She can't possibly be your mother," he frowned and I turned away.

"Not everyone has a loving mother," I quietly said and grabbed Baekhyun's leash from him. "I'm sorry about what happened just now. I'll walk home from here."

"Wait, Mina," he said and grabbed my arm, but I pulled his hands off me. "Mina."

"I really want to be alone right now, please," I whispered and he frowned.

"But it's dark out. If you don't want me to take you home then I'll call a cab or Baek-"

"Don't," I said and shook my head. "He's probably busy and exhausted, it'll only burden him...I'll walk. Thanks for today though."

He wanted to say more, but stopped himself because he knew it wasn't worth it. He handed me the bag of packed food and said, "Text me when you get home safely, so I know you're okay."

I nodded and walked off without another word.

Baekhyun's POV~

I started packing up my stuff and reading over some last minute details on other projects my father left unfinished. I neatly organized my desk and separated important documents from the less important when I felt my phone vibrate in the back of my pants. I didn't look at the caller ID and picked up while trying to organize my documents.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hyung," I heard a familiar voice and I stopped shuffling the papers. "Mina needs you right now."

I set the papers down on my desk and furrowed my brows, "Junior? What are you talking about? Where's Mina?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "She said she was going home and I'm going to trust her on that, but then there's that feeling that she may go off somewhere else to cool her head."

I leaned my against the edge of my desk and asked, "Why didn't you take her home? Did something happen?"

There was a moment of silence and he finally said, "She and her mother had a talk-"

"I should've known," I groaned and the corner of my lip, irritated. "Alright, I'll find her and talk to her. Thanks for letting me know."

"Just go find her," he said and hung up. I stuffed my phone in my back pocket and put the documents into my drawer. I walked out of my office and took the elevator down to the garage parking. Making my way to my car, I called Mina.

No answer.

I called again once I was in my car and drove off. Still no answer.

I sighed and drove faster than I should have and reached the apartment in no time. I ran up to the apartment and pressed in our passcode. It buzzed and I opened the door to have Bacon welcome me, as usual. That must mean she's home.

"Mina!" I shouted her name and went into the bedroom first, but she wasn't there. I furrowed my brows and wondered if she left. I walked out and saw a light coming through the cracks of the bathroom. I approached the bathroom and heard soft music playing.

"Mina?" I called her name and opened the door to see her taking a bath with her eyes closed. Surprised, I quickly turned around and shut the door behind me. Luckily, she was having a bubble bath and the bubbles had covered her entire body; she would've killed me if she saw me. I decided to just wait out for her until she was done, so in the meantime, I changed into my pajamas and waited in bed with my work laptop.

After half an hour or so, I heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom. I quickly put my laptop to sleep and when she walked in, we locked eyes. 

"Baekhyun?!" she gasped, wrapping her arms around her chest with wide eyes. "W-What are you doing here?"

I chuckled and got off the bed.

"Don't forget that I live here too," I said and the closer I got to her, the more she moved herself away; I'm sure she had some sort of inappropriate thought running in her head.

"That's not what I meant," she frowned and I nodded.

"I know," I said and stopped approaching her. I scanned her covered body and said, "No need to cover yourself like that. It's not the first time I've seen you in only a towel."

She turned away and I saw a hint of pink in her cheeks, but then there was this troubled expression that made me sigh. I walked up to her and raised my hand up to her warm cheek. Her eyes lowered and I asked, "What happened today?"

"Did Junior tell you?" she asked and glanced up at me.

"If he didn't tell me, then would you have?" I retorted and she moved herself away from me. "What did she do this time?"

She lowered her gaze again and started walking to the bedroom with me following behind, but she stopped me at the door.

"Let me change first," she simply said and I nodded. She shut the door in front of me and I made my way to the couch with Bacon coming to lay beside me. I rubbed the top of his head, putting him to a light sleep and waited for Mina.

She didn't take long to change into her pajamas and joined me out in the couch. There was an awkward silence and I wondered if I should initiate the converstaion. I didn't want to pressure her though as she didn't like being pressured into answers.

Mina shifted in her position and crossed her legs on the couch; her shorts raised up and I grabbed the pillow next to me, placing it ontop of her lap. She looked at me in disbelief as I did too and we went back to looking to the front.

I let out a long sigh and glanced at her, "He didn't tell me everything, if that's upsetting you. He just said that you and Mrs. Kim had a talk, but I know there's never any good in those talks."

She pressed her lips tightly together and sighed through her nose.

"That's not it...," she quietly said. "I told him to not tell you because it'd burden you. My problem would only exhaust you more...."

I frowned, concerned, and she lifted her legs up, pulling her knees towards her chest with the blanket still covering her legs. She wrapped her arms around her legs and said, "I didn't want to add my problem ontop of yours because I knew that if something had happened to me, you'd come running and leave everything else behind. You'd fall behind at work because of me and people would belittle you. Besides, whatever happens between my mother and I shouldn't involve you; you don't need to come comfort me or cheer me up everytime I encounter her."

Hearing that, there was a slight clench in my chest.

"I can't rely on you all the time...how am I supposed to overcome these sorts of situations if I only rely on you?" she asked, looking at me with soft, yet burdened eyes. "I'm an adult, I should be able to handle things on my own...."

I gently grabbed her hand closest to me and said, "You're right and I may have been too protective of you, but I want you to understand that work is not my priority...you are. If I fall behind in work, then I fall behind, but that doesn't mean I can't get back on track. If people want to belittle me, then they can; I'll just have to show them what I'm capable of as Byun Baekhyun. And I've never seen you as a burden in my life...you're a person who's still trying to find herself."

She turned her gaze away from mine and pulled her hand away. I sighed and said, "Mina, I don't worry about you or get involved because I feel like it's my job. I do it because I love you."

She looked at me with a soft expression and turned away again...it still must be hard for her to hear those three words from me.

"But if you don't want to tell me about what happened then-"

"Have I ever cared for you?" she asked out of the blue, but I knew better than that. Her question must have been connected to their converstaion.

"Of course you have and you still do," I answered.

"How?" she asked and I shrugged.

"Well, when we first moved into our apartment and I fainted, you searched for help," I said and she seemed to remember it. "Also, when your mother asked you to become her little spy, you refused and helped me instead because you knew how important my project in Japan was. You used to stay up and wait for me to come home because you were worried something might have happened to me; you bring me food because you worry I might not have time to get lunch and starve to death."

I got up from the couch and kneeled in front of her, looking up into her eyes.

"There's so much more examples I can give, but I want you to know that you don't just care for me, but you care about my parents too," I said and reached my hand up to her cheek. "Let's not forget Bacon; Junior and the kids in his soccer team. I don't know what your mother told you, but Mina, you're a person who puts others in front of you...that's how you know you're a caring person."

She must of had a bunch of emotions and thoughts going through her mind for her to silently cry in front of me. I frowned and reached up to hug her tightly in my arms.

"She said you don't exist in my life and that I never care for you...she thought Junior was just another man in my life that I was screwing around with," she softly sniffled and I hugged her tighter.

"She can believe whatever she wants but what matters is what you believe is true," I said and pulled away from her. My hands were gently wrapped around her upper arm and I looked her straight in the eyes, then my hands moved down to hers. I grabbed her right hand and helded it up to my cheek.

"Do I exist in your life?" I asked as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Would it be better if I told you my answer? I'll tell you...your existence is my life. I've already told you that you care for me, but that's for you to believe. And are you really screwing around with Junior? Take your time to answer these questions because in the end, you'll realize that your mother was wrong."

I raised myself up and kissed her forehead.

"I'll tell you now that if your mother was right, we'd part a long time ago," I told her and stood up. "What she says isn't worth the heartache and only you know what's true and what's not."

She sighed and stood up, walking towards the bedroom. My eyes followed her and she looked back at me.

"Let's go to bed, I need to rest my mind and you have to wake up early in the morning," she said and I chuckled. She's putting others in front of her again, but I didn't say anything about it, that'd only stress her more. I followed her and we went to bed.

Mina's POV~

The next morning, I didn't even want to wake up. I laid in bed staring at the closed curtains when I felt the bed move. It was too big of a movement to be Bacon, so I turned around and there was a wide awake Baekhyun, staring at me with a grin on his face.

I widened my eyes and gasped, "Baekhyun?!"

"Good morning, sunshine~" he sung and I was at a loss for words. I must have been dreaming or something because there was no way that Baekhyun was next to me. I looked at the wall clock and it was already passed 10 in the morning and turned back to looked at him.

"I'm real, sunshine," he smiled, happily, and grabbed my hand giving it a kiss.

"B-bu---how---w-what?" I asked, confused. "Why aren't you at work?"

He snickered and sat up, slightly leaning over me.

"I thought I'd take the next few days off and spend some time with you," he answered and brushed his fingers against my cheek. "I need me some Mina and Baekhyun time."

I furrowed my brows, still trying to process everything and asked, "Why?"

He raised an eyebrow and rolled onto his back with a loud sigh, "Why you ask? Because it's been weeks sine we've been alone and had time to just acknowledge each other's existence."

Existence.....

"But work-"

"I'm actually ahead of all my work, so there's no need to worry about that. Besides, Secretary Moon will handle things for me," he said and looked at me. "Mina, let's take a break, yeah? From work, family, friends, and Bacon...a break from this world. Let's be free from all our worries and stress for the next few days."

I looked at him and he was being sincere...he really does need the break and so do I. I did like his idea of "running away" from this place to clear our minds.

"What do you say Mina? Wanna leave with me?" he asked with a pleading expression that it made me smile a bit.

"Sure, why not," I said and he smiled, brightly.

Later that day, we sent Bacon to Seolhyun's apartment and we were on our way to our getaway trip to Busan.