3rd Person POV~

"I think they're purposely keeping your father sick," Secretary Moon said and Baekhyun felt his heart hit him hard in the chest. "If not that then they're trying to kill your father...slowly."

Baekhyun felt his body heat up in anger as he shouted, "They wouldn't do that!"

He breathed heavily and clenched his fists as Secretary Moon remained calm. Baekhyun shook his head in disbelief.

"I know Mrs. Kim is crazy, but she wouldn't go that far...would she?" he asked as his mind was jumbled up. "They wouldn't kill my father just for the project in Japan; Dr. Kim knows better than that!"

"I understand that, Baekhyun-ssi, but there must be a reason for your father's stay in the hospital," Secretary Moon said. "For all we know, I can be absolutely wrong about this, but it's best to keep our guards up in case they really are plotting something."

Baekhyun knew he was right, but he didn't want to believe it, whether it was true or not.

"But what point would there be to kill my father?" Baekhyun said in a quiet voice. "I'm the CEO now, he's merely a normal citizen now."

Secretary Moon sighed and shook his head, "If only I knew, but we must keep our eye on them and especially your father's health."

Baekhyun clenched his teeth and sighed. 

"What exactly are they after?" he whispered. 

Just then, a woman made an announcement for Baekhyun's flight that it was ready to board its' flyers, so he and Secretary Moon stood up from their seats, making their way towards the gate. 

*****

The next morning, Mina woke up alone in bed with bags under her eyes and a headache. She couldn't get much sleep last night because of Baekhyun's sudden flight to Japan and Bacon wasn't with her either to keep her company. 

She laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling when there was a buzz from her cellphone. She lazily reached for it and looked at the message. 

"Good morning, sunshine~" it read and she knew it was from Baekhyun. She felt a faint smile on her face as she snorted. 

She rolled onto her side, her eyes glued to the message. She cuddled up against her blanket and texted him back. 

"I see you made it alive," she wrote. He was quick to reply. 

"Very much alive and missing you."

She felt a little tug at her heart and she just stared at the last two words. She didn't want to admit it, but she could feel the difference of not having Baekhyun around. In a way, she knew she missed him too. 

"Don't leave me on read," he texted back and she giggled. Just then, her phone began ringing and without realizing it, she was quick to pick up his call. 

"Wow, what a record," Baekhyun chuckled. "Did you really miss me that much?"

She was embarrassed at how quick she answered and cleared . 

"I just didn't want to hear my phone keep ringing this early in the morning if I left your call unanswered," she said as an excuse. 

Baekhyun snickered and while in his hotel room, he got ready for his morning meeting. 

"Did you have a good sleep last night?" he asked in a sweet, low voice while picking out his tie. 

Mina pulled the phone closer to her ear and answered, "It was the best yet. I could get used to this."

Although it was a lie, she didn't necessarily feel tired anymore. 

"Mmm, I don't know if that's a good thing or not," he said and fixed his tie as he held the phone between his ear and shoulder. "But if my love had a good night's sleep then I won't complain."

"Geez, you say the cheesiest things ever," she said and she heard a door open. "Are you heading out somewhere?"

"Yeah, I've got a meeting with some partners," he answered as he was making his way towards the elevator. 

"This early in the morning?" she asked and he sighed. 

"Yep, but I'm used to it," he said and the elevator opened for him. He entered and pressed the button to the lobby. "So, what are your plans for today?"

She sighed while thinking, "Maybe see your parents at the hospital before picking Bacon up from Seolhyun's place. It's been awhile since I've seen your father, so I want to see how he's doing."

Just hearing that, Baekhyun grew tense and swallowed hard. The elevator reached the lobby and he exited, heading towards the entrance where Secretary Moon was waiting. 

"Mina, I leave my father in your care," he said in a serious tone. 

That took her by surprise and she slowly sat up in bed. 

"Is something wrong?" She asked and he answered, "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just worried about him, that's all."

"Oh, okay."

"Anyways, I gotta go," he continued. "I'll call you once I'm done with my meeting and recharge my energy by hearing your sweet voice."

"Ugh, gross," she scrunched up her face and they said their goodbyes before hanging up. 

Mina looked down at her phone with a smile and got out of bed with light feet. 

Meanwhile, Baekhyun put his phone in his pocket and walked up to Secretary Moon. 

"The Yamamoto's are currently at the site; the Suzuki's and Manager Lee are making their way there," he said following behind Baekhyun out the door. "They'd like to give you a brief tour on the site of your new project then we'll discuss our funds issue at the Suzuki's office. We must find out the main cause of this issue before Mrs. Kim gets her hand on it."

"You don't need to tell me. I'll figure out who's behind this and I'll make sure they recieve the consequences of interfering with my project," Baekhyun said with a serious expression and entered the car that was waiting for him.

*****

It was late afternoon and Mina had finished cooking a packed lunch for Baekhyun's parents. She neatly assembled the lunch together, then headed out to the hospital. 

Once she reached the entrance, she spotted Mr. Kim speaking to another doctor as they were making their way towards the entrance. She stared at him as he took a quick look at her realizing it was her. 

He stopped walking and smiled at her direction with the doctor he was talking to looking at her direction now too. Mina gave a little reaction and bowed to them before walking into the hospital. 

"Is she a past patient?" the doctor asked Mr. Kim. 

"No," he replied. "That's my wife's daughter, Mina."

The doctor looked at him surprised, "So that's Lee Mina. She's been hiding all these years, but what is she doing here?"

Mr. Kim swallowed hard and forced a smile to the doctor, "She's visiting Mr. Byun, I'm sure. Afterall, he is soon to be her father-in-law."

"Hmmm, so she comes to see her father-in-law, but she won't bother to see her step-father?" the doctor questioned with a pitied sighed. "You must have it hard."

Mr. Kim chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not exactly in the right position to force her to like me as a father figure. I don't think I'd be able to even look at her without feeling guilty."

"Guilty for marrying her mother whom you also happened to be her late father's doctor?" the doctor asked, but Mr. Kim kept quiet. The secret behind Mina's father death...he couldn't tell anyone. 

"Hey, weren't we going to meet the intern?" Mr. Kim asked to change the subject and so they made their way into the hospital. 

*****

In the hospital, Mina entered Mr. Byun's room after knocking and was welcomed by warm smiles from Baekhyun's parents. 

"Welcome back, Mina," Mrs. Byun smiled upon seeing her. She stood up and hugged her. "How was your trip?"

"It was nice," Mina answered and hugged Mrs. Byun back. "We brought back souvenirs, but I forgot them back at the apartment."

"Oh, no need to rush to get it to us," she sweetly said and escorted Mina to take a seat. Mina sat down and set the boxed lunch on the night stand. 

She looked at Mr. Byun and he seemed to be recovering well. He had color on his skin and he looked less skinny from the last time she saw him. 

"You seem to be doing better, Mr. Byun," she said and he chuckled. 

"Why so formal? Just call me dad," he said with a smile. Mina softly smiled back and nodded. 

"I'll try my best to call you that," she said and kept her head low while thinking about Baekhyun; wondering what he was doing now even though it's only been a few hours since they chatted. 

Mr. Byun watched her closely and chuckled quietly as he exchanged looks with his wife. 

"Baekhyun will be back soon," he said as Mina shot her head up to look at him. "He won't be away too long, so don't worry about it."

"Oh...I'm not worried about him at all," Mina lied as she cleared and got up to open the lunch box. "Why don't you both have lunch? I made them before I came."

The Byun's found it adorable how Mina got embarrassed and tried to change the subject. She was quick with her hands to set up the tiny table besides Mr. Byun's bed.

"My, your cooking skills have really improved," Mrs. Byun proudly commented.  "You could be a chef."

Mina gave a short laugh and shook her head, "This can't even be compared to what you make. I still have a lot to learn from you."

Mrs. Byun smiled and placed her hand on Mina's shoulder. 

"Come over any time and I'll be happy to teach you all of Baekhyun's favorites," she said and Mina blushed at just hearing his name. "I'm sure he'd really appreciate that."

"He would probably nag me a lot to make them if he found out I knew how to cook his favorites," Mina said already imagining his childish fits. 

"That would only show how much he loves your cooking," Mrs. Byun giggled. 

Hours went by, but it felt so short to Mina. She hasn't been around such lively people in so long that she forgot how nice it was to have company. Not that Baekhyun wasn't good enough company for her, but there was something about spending the day with the Byun's. Something about spending the day with...parents. 

Just as Mina was getting ready to leave for the day, there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Byun opened it and walked in Mr. Kim along with a nurse. The two made eye contact, but Mr. Kim was the first to look away. 

Mina's heart raced in hatred and she was quick to turn her gaze away too as the new guests stopped besides Mr. Byun's bed. 

"I see you're looking much more healthy," Mr. Kim said with a smile. 

"Yes, it's all thanks to you," Mr. Byun kindly replied. 

Mr. Kim held his hand out towards the nurse as she handed him a clipboard with some files on it. He looked through it and said, "At this rate, you may be discharge by the end of this week."

Upon hearing that, Mina looked up at the two, relieved. 

“But, I must come by to monitor you every once in awhile. Are you okay with that?” Mr. Kim asked as he wrote some notes on the papers. 

“Of course, if that’s what you suggest then I have no reason to reject you from visiting,” Mr. Byun smiled and Mr. Kim nodded. 

“Then I’ll have your paperwork put together and may even get you out sooner. Continue to take your medication and you’ll be good as new,” he said and Mina and Mrs. Byun’s chest lightened up. 

“Thank you, Doctor Kim, for all that you’ve done,” Mrs. Byun said with much appreciation and gave a deep bow. “We can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad Mr. Byun is recovering well,” Mr. Kim smiled and handed the clipboard back to the nurse. “I have other business to attend, so I must get going.”

“Of course, we won’t hold you back any longer,” Mrs. Byun said. But, before the two had walked out, Mr. Kim stopped to look at Mina. 

“If you’d allow me a few minutes of your time, Mina,” he said, which took her by surprise. She looked back at the Byun’s and they nodded to have her go. 

“I’ll be back,” she bowed and followed Mr. Kim put the room. 

The nurse had separated from them as they both went up to the roof top, accessed only for staff. Mina was nervous as the two walked towards the railing, staring out at the city below them. 

“How are you doing?” Mr. Kim asked as he placed his hands on the metal rails. Heading him speak disgusted her. “I’m assuming you’re doing well?”

“Is this all you have to say? If so, then I’ll kindly return-“

“Why don’t you come home and join your mother and I for dinner,” he interrupted without glancing her way. 

She shot her eyes up to him and narrowed them. Asking for a dinner date out of the blue wasn’t unusual to come from him, but it usually was her mother’s plan just so she could belittle Mina. 

“Did that witch ask you to invite me?” Mina questioned, turning her eyes back to the city. 

“No, this is all me,” he responded. “It’s been awhile since you’ve been home, so I thought-“

“I won’t return to that place, never again,” she cut him off. “That witch never has anything good to say and after what she did to me, I won’t meet her again.”

Mr. Kim sighed, expecting her answer. He knew how much she hated the both of them and he really did want to try and get on her good side. 

“I’ve given you my answer, so I’ll be taking my leave,” Mina said through clenched teeth and turned around when Mr. Kim spoke. 

“I’m sorry,” he suddenly apologized. Mina stopped in her tracks and looked at him. He still didn’t turn his face to meet hers. 

“Why are you suddenly apologizing?” she asked with furrowed brows. She started to become confused of this change in direction of their conversation. 

Mr. Kim sighed and finally turned around to look at her. Anyone could tell how apologetic he was by the way he looked. 

“For everything,” he answered. “The real reason for asking you to join us for dinner was because I...I....”

He wished to tell her everything her mother was having him do. He wished to reveal the truth even though he didn’t want to. He no longer wanted to be his wife’s puppet. But, he held back the words and swallowed them. 

“I just wanted to make up for everything,” he quietly said and Mina’s confusion grew even bigger. “It’s okay to resent me for the rest of your life. Even I hate myself right now.”

Mina shook her head and asked, “Are you hiding something from me? Is there something I should know? Why are you saying this all of sudden?!”

Mr. Kim felt his chest tighten, but the thought of his wife raging at him made him keep his mouth shut. But, rather than his own safety, he was more worried about what his wife might do to Mina if she were to find out the truth. 

There was a long silence between them as Mina grew even more distraught. 

“It’s nothing,” he quietly said and went on to change the topic. “Mr. Byun will be released from the hospital soon. I’ll do all that I can to ensure his health fully recovers. After all, you care deeply for him as your father.”

Hearing that, all of Mina’s anger disappeared and she grew worried and relieved. 

“You’re right...,” Mina softly spoke before raising her voice, sternly. “I’ve lost one father, I won’t lost another. And if anything happens to him, you’d be to blame.”

Mr. Kim had no right to be hurt, but he was. He lowered his gaze and quietly chuckled. 

“I won’t let anything happen to him,” he said and whispered the last few words. “Not anymore.”

Mina swallowed hard as she watched Mr. Kim carefully. 

“If we’re done here, then I’ll take my leave,” she said and turned around, quickly leaving before he could say another word. 

Once the door slammed shut, he let out a heavy sigh and leaned his back against the rail. 

“It was part of the plan to have Mr. Byun return home safe and sound, but I’m still worried about what tricks she has under her sleeves,” he whispered. “I must figure out what she’s doing and stop her. In the end, this was really just a game for her to destroy Mina. After all, she was the one on her late father’s will to inherit all of his assets, not my wife.”

*****

Mina had returned to Mr. Byun’s room and they welcomed her back with a warm smile. Just seeing them made her mood lighter. 

“Did everything go alright?” Mrs. Byun asked, noticing Mina’s tired expression. 

“Ah, yes...it’s was alright,” she forced the words, but the Byun’s knew better. Mrs. Byun walked over to Mina and suddenly gave her a hug. 

Before Mina could react, Mrs. Byun rubbed her back as if she were a child. 

“I know it’s not easy to get along with your step-father, so take it easy,” she said in such a soothing voice that all of Mina’s fatigue has drifted away. 

Mina really was drawn to the Byun family, they must’ve enchanted with her some sort of magic for her to feel so at ease with them. If home was a person, she’d say the Byun family was it. 

Mina hugged her back and sighed, “It’s hard...he’s never had any ill intentions and he’s never been aggressive with me. But, I still can’t accept him.”

Mrs. Byun looked over to her husband, who gave a faint smile. 

“Even if they’ve been good to you, doesn’t mean you have to accept them,” Mr. Byun assured her. “Go at your own pace to feel comfortable.”

Mina pulled away from Mrs. Byun and looked at the two, then smiled. She really liked being with them. If anything...she loved them.