3rd Person POV~

Morning had come and Baekhyun’s parents were the first to wake up. They had stepped out into the living room to check on Baekhyun and Mina when they stopped in their tracks. 

“Omo,” Mrs. Byun quietly gasped with a sweet smile. Before their eyes was Baekhyun hugging Mina close to his body as her face was buried in his chest, hugging him back. 

“Let’s leave them to sleep longer,” Mr Byun quietly chuckled and they went back into the room.

Mrs. Byun sat down on the edge of the bed as Mr. Byun walked over to the window, pulling the curtains to the side to see the condition of the roads. The streets were now cleared and bustling with cars. They must’ve had at least 5 inches of snow last night. 

“Yeobo,” Mrs. Byun softly said as he turned his head to look at her. “What do you think about having the two marry sooner?”

He blinked at her, then smiled, answering, “It’s clear that the two love each other and Mina is already family. But, I think it’s best if they decide to marry on their own accords. Besides, I can see that the mergence of our companies no longer have an affect on them, so we there’s no need to push them into marriage anymore.”

His wife smiled and nodded in agreement. He turned back around to look out at the city. 

“I am quite worried though,” he said, which caught her attention. 

“Why do you say that?” she asked with a frown. He sighed and lowered his head. 

“Mina’s mother is up to something, but I’m not quite sure what she’s doing...or going to do,” he said and Mrs. Byun stood up from the bed walking towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at his lowered gaze. 

“I trust Baekhyun will be able to handle it. He is a smart man,” she assured him. 

“And she’s also a smart woman,” he said, looking up to his wife. “She’s quite powerful too. But, it’s not Baekhyun I’m worried about. It’s Mina.”

Mrs. Byun swallowed hard and felt her chest tighten. She worried about Mina as if she were her real daughter. 

“Before her father passed away, I met him when he was hospitalized,” Mr. Byun said. “He knew of his wife’s affair and he knew she was dangerous. But for the sake of Mina, he held on, promising to only love Mina. He cared for her and loved her dearly.”

At the memories, Mr. Byun clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, continuing, “He knew he wasn’t going to live much longer. He knew his wife wouldn’t care or love Mina. So, I stayed with him that night as he wrote his will. All of it...all his money; his companies; everything was supposed to be Mina’s.”

Mrs. Byun widened her eyes at the sudden news, then furrowed her brows. 

“Then...Mina’s mother...,” she quietly said, trying to find the right words. 

“She altered it,” Mr. Byun gritted as he looked back to his wife. “She must have, otherwise she wouldn’t be in full control right now. I also believe that she agreed to this marriage between our children because she wanted to bring us down, but now it seems she’s changed her plans and is planning to destroy Mina...or at least stop her from getting what she rightfully owns.”

Mrs. Byun shook her head, “How could a mother do such a thing? Especially to her only child.”

Mr. Byun sighed and held his wife’s hand. “Mina is now in our hands; we must protect her. And we must support Baekhyun all that we can. Even Seolhyun, we can’t let our guard down with her either.”

Mrs. Byun nodded in agreement. 

Meanwhile, Baekhyun was just starting to wake up. He groaned a little and felt something heaving in his arms and someone breathing on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Mina holding onto him. He grinned at the sight and pulled her closer as she snuggled up against him. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. But, the moment didn’t last as long as he wanted. 

The bedroom door opened and he wasn’t sure whether he should open his eyes or stay frozen in embarrassment. 

“They must’ve been really tired,” he heard his father whisper. “Should we wake them?”

“No, let them sleep longer,” he heard his mother. Baekhyun found it adorable that his parents were like this, but he was too embarrassed to be seen like this. 

Just then, Mina moved in her sleep and opened her eyes, looking up at Baekhyun, who still had his eyes closed shut. She rubbed her eyes and smiled upon see his sleeping face. Unaware of her audience, she leaned up and pecked his lips. He immediately opened his eyes wide and in shock. His eyes shifted to his parents, who held in their laugh. 

Mina heard chuckling behind her and she turned her head to see the Byun’s covering their mouth, shoulder shaking in laughter. She widened her eyes and gasped loudly. She then grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her head in embarrassment. She could feel her face flushing with heat. 

“Don’t worry, we didn’t see anything,” Mr. Byun chuckled and both Baekhyun and Mina were red at the face. Baekhyun cleared his throat and was the first to get up from the floor. 

“Did you sleep well?” he asked his parents, who nodded while still holding their laugh. “Uhm, I called Secretary Moon last night and told him to bring new pairs of clothing for you two. I don’t know what the roads are like, so I also told him to drive you guys home. He’ll be here around noon.”

“Thank you,” his parents chorused, still grinning at him. He turned away from their gazes and looked at the floor. 

“W-Why don’t I prepare breakfast?” he awkwardly smiled and was making his way to the kitchen when his mother stopped him by grabbing his arm. She reached up and combed his hair with her fingers. 

“Who don’t you take care of this bird nest first?” she laughed and he touched his head. Sure enough, he could feel how messy it was and he chuckled, “Right.”

Mina, who was still under the covers, wondered when it would be a good time to get up. She timed it wrong and missed her chance to get out. She was suffocating. 

“Mina, let’s get ready and start clearing up the living room,” Baekhyun said, walking towards her. She swallowed hard, not wanting to show her face. 

Baekhyun looked to his parents, who turned their eyes away. As if saying, ‘we won’t look’. He knew she wasn’t going to get up, so he placed his arms under her and lifted her up, bridal style, while the blanket was still covering her. 

“Yah! Baekhyun!” she shouted at the sudden action. He carried her to their bedroom and shut the door, using his feet. He placed her on the bed and removed the blanket, revealing her embarrassed face. 

“Yah, why did you do that? Your parents were watching,” Mina angrily frowned while still red. He grinned and leaned down towards her. 

“Would you rather show your embarrassed face to my parents?” he asked and she pressed her lips together. She knew he wasn’t wrong, but it was just as embarrassing to be carried like that. She turned away while still gripping onto the blanket. 

“Well, I’m going to wash up first,” he said and kissed her cheek as she widened her eyes. She looked at the door to make sure it was really closed. 

*****

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kim sat alone at her dining table, enjoying a luxurious breakfast served by her workers. She sipped her coffee as she read the morning paper. 

Mr. Kim made his way into the dining room when he saw his wife. He stopped in his tracks and let out a heavy sigh. He tried to time his morning to not meet her, but he timed it wrong. 

She didn’t look up from her paper, but spoke, “Take a seat, dear. I’ll have someone bring in your breakfast.”

“No, I’m fine. I have a meeting early in the morning, I’ll have breakfast in the office,” he said and his heels, but before he could leave the room she spoke again. 

“Are you really going to avoid me now?” she asked while setting her newspaper down. Mr. Kim closed his eyes and sighed once again. 

“No, as I’ve told you, I have a meeting to get to. Now if you’d excuse me,” he said and walked off as she clenched his fist in anger. 

“Fine! Be that way!” she shouted and crossed her arms. “You weren’t of any use to begin with.”

She bit her lower lip and thought hard about how she was going to continue with her plan. Initially, her plan was to have Mina and Baekhyun marry, that way their shares would be combined. She had planned to overtake Baekhyun’s project in Japan since it had potential in gaining huge amounts of money; that’s all she ever cared for. Mina was only her prawn to get what she wanted, but with everyone betraying her, she feared Mina would find out the truth and take everything away. 

“In the end, it’s always that wrench,” Mrs. Kim muttered and sighed loudly. “She’s the source to all my problems...I must get rid of her.”

*****

Weeks went by and it was the weekends. Mina and Baekhyun didn’t have much to do for the day, so they lazed around on the couch, watching the latest drama. Mina was the only one watching the drama while Baekhyun laid his head on her lap, reading a book. She looked at the male lead, then glanced down to Baekhyun. 

“I wonder what you’d look like if we cut your hair like his,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. Unbothered, he replied, “Are you trying to compare me to that guy?”

“There’s really not much to compare when he’s much more handsome,” she answered and he set his book down on his chest to pout at her.

“What do they call it? The chestnut hairstyle?” she smirked, completely ignoring his look, and continued to play with his hair. “But I don’t think you’d match it, if anything you’re best off with your usual hairstyle...or, shaved.”

Baekhyun scoffed and turned his head to watch the drama...more like observe the male lead. 

“He’s not that handsome,” he said, almost childishly. “Besides, that’s an ugly cut.”

Mina giggled and looked at the male lead, “Not unless the man is hot, then it really doesn’t matter.”

“Yah!” Baekhyun retorted and she laughed a little more. “Let’s turn this off and go out for a walk. It’s getting stuffy in here.”

He was going to get up, but she pushed his head back down on her lap. 

“It’s cold out, I don’t want either of us catching a cold,” she said and looked at the window to see it snowing lightly. “See, it’s also snowing.”

Baekhyun tilted his head up and saw a glimpse of the snow falling. He knew it wasn’t really the time to go out, but he also thought it’d be quite romantic to walk as it snowed. 

“Just stay still and read your book as I watch this episode,” she said, her eyes glued to the screen. He looked at her, then to the drama, noticing the female lead’s hairstyle. He smirked and reach his hand out to touch the ends of her hair. 

“Hmm, I wonder how you’d look if we cut your hair short and dyed the ends of it. And the straight cut bangs, I wonder if they’d suit you,” he said and she snickered. 

“Been there, don’t that,” she said and he widened his eyes, surprised. He shot up from his position and looked at her with curiosity. He couldn’t imagine her with short hair and most of all, straight bangs that were cut higher than her eyebrows. He hair now was long and a natural dark brown/black shade. She didn’t have much bangs as her hair was parted in the center, framing her slim face well. He really just couldn’t imagine her with a different style. 

“It was way back then, some time in my middle school year,” she tried to remember. “I hated how I looked and wanted a change, so I had a friend, at that time, cut my hair. She kept messing up and ended up cutting it too short. I didn’t mind it though.”

Baekhyun listened intently as she continued, “But I wasn’t satisfied with how I looked, so I cut my own bangs. Of course, being a first timer, I didn’t know how to cut them so they were jagged and also too short. But, I thought I looked pretty cool.”

“Sounds hot,” Baekhyun said, amazed. She rolled her eyes with a light laugh. 

“Then, one day, this same friend wanted to try box dyeing, so I let her and it turned out to be a mess. Can’t trust middle schoolers to dye each other’s hair,” she said with a smile, remembering her wild childhood. “But, now that I think of it, it doesn’t really suit me.”

Baekhyun lightly laughed and moved closer to her, touching her hair. 

“Right, because as long as the girl’s hot, the style doesn’t matter,” he teased and she furrowed her brows at him. She was now the one pouting. He noticed her expression and laughed, leaning in to give her a kiss on the lips. 

“Of course, I meant you,” he whispered in a low, seductive voice and leaned in for another kiss. Her heart raced at the touch and their body grew hot with every kiss they shared. 

Baekhyun gently pushed Mina down to lay on the couch as he hovered over her. Her hands roamed up his chest and behind his neck, pulling him closer as his hands traveled down to her waist. 

Their lips devoured one another and when their lips parted, they panted for the slightest bit of air before they’d collide once again. By this point, their minds were going crazy and they wanted more, but as soon as Baekhyun slipped his hand under Mina’s shirt, his warm hand brushing against her bare skin, a spark hit her and she snapped out of it. She widened her eyes and pushed hard at Baekhyun’s chest. 

He pulled away, confused and shocked, as Mina was heavily breathing with wide eyes, still. Her heart was pounding and ringing in her ears as she looked at Baekhyun’s face. This shouldn’t be new to her, but it was. They’ve never gone further than a make out session...she’d never gone further than that. She swallowed hard and was still panting. She knew this feeling that was starting to form in her stomach...she was scared. As much as she liked his kisses, she was scared of the next step. 

Baekhyun had seen this look before and sighed out, deeply. He caressed her cheek and leaned a little closer. 

“I won’t hurt you,” he softly whispered as he gazed into her quivering eyes. “And I won’t do something you don’t like.”

She swallowed hard and lowered her head, avoiding his eyes. It hurt him to see her avoid him, but what could he do. He kissed her forehead and pushed himself off the couch. 

“I’m gonna go out for some cool air,” he said and walked off to grab his parka from the coat closet. Mina laid still, not knowing what to do, and like that, he left. 

Only a few seconds had gone and she sat up with her eyes stinging of tears fighting to break loose. 

“Did I disappoint him?” she whispered, feeling her heart grow heavy and her stomach feeling uncomfortable. She hugged her body. “Will he be okay with someone who’s inexperienced? Or, will he see me as someone dirty who has had other men touch me?”

Just the thought of her past life before meeting him made her sick to the stomach. In an instance, all those memories she had forgotten appeared before her and she closed her eyes shut to forget them again. She hated herself. She hated how she lived before. 

“Why was I so stupid?” she almost cried and covered her face in shame. 

Meanwhile, Baekhyun wasn’t too far from the apartment complex. While cooking himself down, he made his way to the convenience store and had bought all of Mina’s favorite snacks and drinks. But, he couldn’t forget her fearful face. He wondered, was he really a scary person for her to look like that? Or, did she not fully trust him yet?

He sighed at the thoughts and went on to purchase his items. After that, he slowly walked along the streets, letting every snowflake gracefully land on him. He made sure to take his time, that way Mina could cool down herself. 

As he approached closer to the apartment building, he noticed a figure dressed in all black, pacing back and forth. Baekhyun thought it was sketchy, especially by the way this person was behaving. He frowned at the sight and approached the person. 

“Excuse me, may I help you?” he asked and the person turned around. It was a man, but Baekhyun couldn’t really make out a face as he had a face mask on. 

“No, I’m just waiting for a friend,” he answered and turned away. Baekhyun wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not, but it’s not unusual to wait up for a friend. But, it was unusual to wait outside in the cold. Who makes a friend wait outside?

He didn’t bother to question the man any further as he felt he shouldn’t get involved and went on his way into the building. But, he could feel someone watching him. He turned his head around and the strange man had his back turned to Baekhyun; it looked like he was on the phone with someone. 

“Am I just feeling things?” he wondered and entered the building. He made his way up to their apartment and entered. 

It was silent. 

“Mina,” he called out her name from the doorway. 

No response. 

“Lee Mina,” he called out once again and fully entered the apartment. The living room was empty and so was the kitchen/dining area. He set his bags on the table and entered the bedroom. She wasn’t there either, but Bacon was. He welcomed his owner back and Baekhyun kneeled down to pet him. 

“Where’s your mother?” he asked the pup, but there was no response. He stood up and looked in the bathroom, but it was empty. 

He didn’t feel good not knowing where she was and this feeling was unsettling. Then, suddenly he had this crazy thought that scared him. The man he met at the front....

He panicked at the thought of Mina being hurt or even kidnapped, so he ran out the apartment and down to the front of the building. The man was gone and his heart raced even more. 

“No, no, this can’t be,” he tried to deny. “Okay, let’s think this logically, Baekhyun-“

“Baekhyun?” he heard a familiar voice that made his heart stop. He turned around and saw Mina holding onto a bag. There was an instant relief and he ran to her, hugging her tightly. “Hey, what are you-“

“Where’d you go?!” she shouted, squeezing her even tighter. “I thought I lost you!”

“You’re hurting me a little here,” she could barely say as she was squeezed into his chest. 

“I leave you alone for no more than 10 minutes and you disappear on me! You could’ve at least called or texted me! Do you not know how scared I was?! I thought that strange man took you away or something! I thought-“

“Byun Baekhyun!!” Mina shouted and wiggled herself free from him. She looked at him annoyed and huffed out a breath. “First, let’s calm down.”

He was breathing heavy and she noticed he didn’t have a coat on. As a matter of fact, he was in his slippers. 

“Yah, you idiot. How could you run out here in such thin clothing and no shoes?” she asked, furrowing her brows. 

“Because I-“

“Let’s get inside first. You’re going to freeze to death,” she said and took off her parka, placing it over his body. He hadn’t realized how cold it was until her parka covered him. 

They got to the apartment and took a seat by the dining table. Mina prepared some hot tea as Baekhyun sat with his head hung low, almost like a child prepared to get a scolding. 

She poured the tea and placed it in front of Baekhyun, then took a seat in front of him with arms crossed. 

“Care to explain?” she asked and he glanced up at her. He took in a deep breath and let out to speak, “I thought you were kidnapped.”

She raised an eyebrow and asked, “What made you think that?”

“Well, I met a strange man at the front of our building. Something just didn’t feel right with him, but I let it go. Then I came in and saw you gone, so my imagination took me to what I feared most and thought he and his accomplice might have taken you,” he explained. Just hearing that, Mina thought it was childish and ridiculous, even Baekhyun thought so. 

“How do you even come up with these scenarios?” she wondered and sighed. “I didn’t meet a strange man, there wasn’t anyone out there. And I admit, it was my fault for not letting you know, but I thought I’d be quick.”

She got up from her seat and picked up her bag, pulling out snacks. 

“I went to the store in the back of our building and bought your favorite snacks as an apology,” she said and he lifted his head up to look at her, confused. 

“Apology? For what?” he asked and she pressed her lips tight together. That feeling came back...the sickness in her stomach. “For everything.”

Baekhyun stood up and walked over to her, tilting his head a little. 

“Everything? What do you mean?” he asked, really confused about what she was talking about. Mina hated being pressured, especially by Baekhyun. 

“Well, for one, I pushed you away,” she quietly said as they both remembered what had happened moments ago. Baekhyun was a little hurt by that, but it wasn’t much to really hurt him. 

“Mina, you didn’t like it and so you did what you had to do,” he said with a sweet voice. “And I’m going to respect that. I won’t do something you’re not comfortable with.”

Hearing that, Mina felt relieved, but at the same time, she just couldn’t get rid of that sick feeling. Baekhyun approached her a little closer, but she held her hand up to his chest to stop him. He was taken aback and took a step back to give her space. 

“Are you...,” she started out bravely, even though her heart felt like it was going to stop anytime soon. “Are you okay with someone who’s had men all over her, yet has no experience in these things?”

Baekhyun slightly widened his eyes at the question, but seeing how nervous and scared she was, he relaxed his face a little. He didn’t like it that she had flings before him. He hated the fact that other men had touched her before he could. And even though those old rumors of her that she slept around with multiple men were confirmed false, he still wasn’t happy. But, he already decided long ago that he would accept her past and it hurt him to see her like this. 

“To think you’re still looking at yourself like that,” he said and she lowered her head in shame. He got closer and used his hand to lift her face up to look at him. “I love you.”

Mina felt her eyes well up in tears. 

“I love you and your flaws,” he said in a tender voice and cupped her face with his hands, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. “I can see that you’re being considerate of me, but don’t try to think too hard about my feelings and my thoughts of you because they’ll never change. I’ve already come to accept your past and I’ve come to accept who you are now.”

He leaned forward to kiss her forehead and continued, “Sure, it angers me that other men have touched you, maybe even in places I’ve never touched, but you’re mine now and only mine. How lucky of me.”

He then kissed the tip of her nose. “I don’t care if you’re inexperienced, that makes two of us. We’ll learn together.”

He moved his sweet kisses to her right eye, “We’ll learn how to love.”

Then kissed the left eye. 

“Learn how to be an imperfectly couple that we can define as perfect.”

Then kissed her lips. 

“We’ll learn to accept each other no matter how we lived our life before because what truly matters now is how we are right now.”

Mina let a tear slip and he wiped it away with his thumb. 

“This is what love is,” he whispered and gave her another kiss before gently placing his forehead against hers. “I’ll tell you over and over again of my love for you to the point when you get sick of it.”

Mina gave a faint smile and hugged him, burying her face into his chest. He kissed her shoulder and said, “I love you, Lee Mina. It’ll always be you and only you. We can take this slow.”

She nodded and he smiled, hugging her a little tighter, then his heart was a little uneasy and upset. 

“Where have these men touched you?” he asked and she was silent. ”Let me erase their touches and replace them with mine, that way you’ll only think of me.”

She didn’t speak, so Baekhyun sighed and just enjoyed the moment, until her hand grabbed his. She didn’t look up at him as she was starting to feel embarrassed, but she led his hand to her thighs. He knew immediately what this meant...permission to disinfect. 

He smirked and used his other hand to lift her chin up and he kissed her lips as his hand touched the side of her thigh. 

“Show me, where else did they touch?” he whispered in a low voice and she moved his hand to her abdomen. The kiss grew deep within seconds as she was now pressed against the wall and his hands were now led to different parts of her body. Every touch left a hot sensation that spread through her body; it wasn’t like anything she’s ever felt before. 

Baekhyun moved his kisses down to her neck as she let out a soft sigh. His lips right next to her ear and he whispered, “Tell me if you’re scared, I’ll stop.”

She turned her head to look at him and she shook her head, “I’m fine.”

Baekhyun’s heart was beating faster than usual and asked, “Shall we go to the room?”

Mina swallowed and hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He smirked and lifted her up, heading into the bedroom. 

He placed her on the bed and removed his shirt, showing off his fit figure. It wasn’t a first for Mina to see him half-, but to have him straddled above her was. She flushed red and he leaned forward as they continued their passionate kiss, his hands exploring her body. He slid his hand under her shirt and she flinched at the touch. 

He was quick to remove his hand and pushed himself up to look at her. 

“Should I stop?” he asked, but seeing how she looked now, it was enough for him to know she wasn’t scared anymore. It was almost too seductive that he could’ve devoured within seconds, but he knew he had to take it slow.

She looked up at him with hazy eyes and said in a hoarse voice, “Continue.”

That was all he needed to hear and they continued their passionate kiss. Their first night was a memory neither one of them would forget. 

*****

Morning had come and Mina woke up in bed with Baekhyun’s arm wrapped around her. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at his sleeping face. She thought of how adorable he looked, but then looked at their current self and flushed red out of embarrassment. They were both and had their bodies covered in red marks. She lightly gasped and covered her face, burying her burning face in his chest. 

“I can’t believe we did it,” she thought to herself and the memories of event repeated itself. “Ahh!”

She wanted to dig a hole and hide in it forever. 

Baekhyun stirred in his sleep and she glanced up at him. He must’ve been exhausted. 

She continued to watch him and his expressions from last night kept appearing. 

“Ah, seriously, you’re horrible,” she continued to speak to herself in her mind, but she didn’t hate how he looked. He didn’t hate him at all. Actually, as embarrassing as it is, she quite liked it. 

She ran her finger along his jawline, then brushed his eyebrows, then his eyelashes, which made him stir a bit. She froze and waited until she felt it was safe to continue, so she traced her fingers along the bridge of his nose and landed on his lips. She smiled and stared at him. 

She has always felt safe with him; she’s felt comfortable. But, this feeling that she had now was different. It was something she didn’t want to admit, but it was also something she couldn’t back either. 

She caressed his sleeping face and leaned up to kiss his lips. She took a deep breath and whispered, “Baekhyun, I love you.”