3rd Person POV~ 

In the Byun residence, Mr. Kim had gone to pay a visit to check on Mr. Byun’s health. He monitored Mr. Byun and spoke to the nurse as she write down the notes. He removed his stethoscope from his ears and from Mr. Byun’s chest, then smiled. 

“There seems to be no issue with your health,” he said and the Byun’s smiled, relieved and grateful. “Be sure to watch your diet and hydrate yourself.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you for your help,” Mr. Byun thanked with a bow. Mr. Kim have a slight nod and asked his nurse to start prepping to leave. 

“If you’re in no rush, why don’t you stay for lunch?” Mrs. Byun politely asked while the nurse and Mr. Kim packed up. 

“Oh, thank you for your invitation, but I have meetings to attend,” he said and put in his coat. “We should set up a time for dinner though. It’s been awhile since we’ve had time together.”

“Yes, it sure has been awhile,” Mrs. Byun smiled and asked, “How is your wife?”

Mr. Kim stopped what he was doing and paused for a moment before forcing a smile and answering, “She’s well. But, she’s been pretty busy preparing and organizing her New Years banquet.”

“Oh my, she really is a busy woman,” Mrs. Byun admired. “It must be a big event.”

Mr. Kim gave a small sigh and nodded. 

“Yes, she plans to make it grand,” he said and searched his work bag. “Actually, before I forget, she had asked me to hand your family an invitation. Well, that’s if I can find, oh! Here it is.”

He pulled out a fancy envelope and gave it to Mrs. Byun as her husband looked over her shoulder at the invitation. 

“We do hope you and the family will be able to join us,” he said and the Byun’s smiled to him. 

“We’ll be sure to attend,” Mr. Byun answered. “I’ll let Baekhyun and Mina know as well.”

Just hearing her name, Mr. Kim felt his heart clench. He still felt extremely sorry towards her. 

“How is she?” he carefully asked, hoping he wasn’t prying too much. The Byun’s exchanged looks, then Mrs. Byun spoke. 

“She’s doing good. They’ve gone to the ski resort for the holiday and should be back tonight,” she smiled, sweetly. 

Mr. Kim was relieved to hear that and he smiled. 

“That’s good. Well, I should get going if I’m planning to attend my meeting on time,” he said and the adults bid each other farewell. 

The Byun’s sat in the living room across from one another and looked at the invitation that laid on the coffee table. Mr. Byun made a frown as he looked at the pretty invite. 

“Why do I feel a sense of worry?” he wondered aloud and Mrs. Byun sighed. 

“I’m sure Mrs. Kim has no ill intentions,” she replied, trying optimistic. “She does enjoy her parties, so I’m sure she’s celebrating the new year with a good heart.”

“Even still, I worry for the children,” Mr. Byun said with a sigh and leaned into the sofa. “I had Secretary Moon look into finding out about Mr. Lee’s will he left behind and he said there was a lead.”

His wife looked at him with worried eyes. “I’m glad to hear that, but I worry for the safety of Secretary Moon. I admire his skills, but he’s no detective. Mrs. Kim is quite a powerful woman and it scares me what she may do if Secretary Moon is found out. She does have many eyes.”

Mr. Byun was worried too, but he trusted Secretary Moon. 

“I don’t plan to have him investigate everything,” he assured his wife. “I just need enough evidence that Mrs. Kim had altered the will and what she’s doing is wrong. Not only that, but I’ve been told that she’s swindling money. If she’s caught with fraud then the businesses that Mr. Lee worked his whole life on would be over in an instant. I won’t let such efforts go to waste....”

Mrs. Byun understood where her husband was coming from. She, too, did not want Mrs. Kim to ruin the reputation of the businesses that Mina’s father had worked so hard on, but she also knew of his love towards Mina. 

“He was a good man who only wanted the best for his daughter,” Mrs. Byun softly said. “Even if Mrs. Kim gets caught and the Lee business gets taken over, or if we never find the will that proves Mina to be the sole keeper of the businesses, Mr. Lee would rather have his daughter be protected, happy, and loved. After all, his efforts were for Mina. He adored her.”

Mr. Byun felt his heart grow heavy. He knew how much his colleague loved his daughter. 

*Flashback*

At the hospital, Mr. Byun approached Mr. Lee’s hospital room when he heard laughter coming from the room. He slowed down his pace and once he reached the room, he peeked in and saw Mina sitting on the bed with her father.

They were playing with her dolls, laughing with one another as Mr. Lee altered his voice to fit a certain doll. Mr. Byun watched with a smile and light heart. 

“Save me, Prince! I’m trapped in the castle!” Mina said with a high pitched voice to match the princess doll. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll come save you!” Mr. Lee said and played with the male doll. He made it climb the imaginary castle to rescue the trapped princess. Anyone would be able to tell they were reenacting Rapunzel with their own twist. 

“Watch out! Here comes the dragon!” Mina shouted and with her favorite stuffed animal, Teddy, she used him as the dragon. “Rawr!”

“I’ll defeat the dragon!” Mr. Lee said and pretended to the kill the dragon. Mr. Byun snickered while watching the two and Mr. Lee heard him.

He turned to the door and they made eye contact. Mr. Byun bowed and mouthed that he would come at a later time, so he left the two alone. 

Later that evening, he went to visit Mr. Lee and saw Mina asleep against her father’s chest. Mr. Byun smiled upon the sight and the two men met eyes. 

“Seolhyun would never cuddle with me like that,” Mr. Byun quietly chuckled as he approached the two. “How are you feeling?”

“The usual,” Mr. Lee sighed while looking down at his daughter. Mr. Byun could see that he wasn’t feeling “the usual”, there was more to that. 

“Are you worried? About your health?” Mr. Byun carefully asked. Mr. Lee looked up to him with a faint smile. 

“Rather than my health, I worry about Mina’s wellbeing,” he spoke and brushed her hair away from her face. “I worry her mother...will not love her or treat her well.”

My. Byun felt a tug at his heart. He was aware of her affair and her treatment towards Mina. 

“I worry my daughter will be lonely without me. She’ll be sad. She’ll cry a lot,” Mr. Lee quietly said as he felt his eyes burn with tears, but he in a breath and held his tears back. “I worry for her happiness....”

Mr. Byun looked at the young girl as she peacefully slept next to her father. She looked so innocent and pure. If he were to compare her, he’d say she resembled a fluffy bunny. 

“Minsoo,” Mr. Lee called his name in a low voice. Mr. Byun turned his attention back to him and slightly widened his eyes upon seeing his friend’s tears slip from his eyes. “Please...please watch over her. She’s all I have left...I don’t want her to live a hard life,” he pleaded and tightened his grip around Mina’s tiny frame. “I know you have Baekhyun and Seolhyun to care for, but please...love her like I love her as a father. That’s all I ask of you as a friend.”

Mr. Byun felt a lump grow in his throat and he swallowed hard with a nod. 

“I’ll take care of her, don’t worry, Hyunwoo.”

*End of Flashback*

My. Byun hung his head low with closed eyes and felt a sense of guilt hover his shoulder. 

“I failed you, my friend,” he said in a hushed tone. He said it to no one in particular, but those words were directed to one person; Mina’s father. “She lived such a hard live because of me.”

Mrs. Byun looked at her husband with sad eyes and walked over to sit next to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“She disappeared as soon as the funeral was over. If I had known where she was, I would have brought her here immediately,” he blamed himself for Mina’s misfortune. His wife silently comforted him. “I’m just glad Baekhyun found her again.”

*****

“I lost Mina,” Baekhyun said as he stood by the car, staring blankly at the food court. They were on their way home from the trip, but decided to stop at a rest stop to grab something to eat since they missed breakfast. They wanted to head out early to not get caught up in traffic. 

“You lost her? Wasn’t she just behind you?” Seolhyun asked as she ate her corn dog. 

“Did she run back in to grab another snack?” Jinyoung asked, also looking at the food court. “Maybe the tteobokki wasn’t enough for her.”

“She should’ve at least said something to me instead of wander off alone,” Baekhyun frowned, worried she was lost. The trio stood and looked around the area for her, but no sign. Baekhyun chewed on his lower lip and handed Seolhyun his drink. 

“Hold this, I’m going to find-“

“Sorry guys!” Mina shouted as she ran up to them. 

“Don’t run! You’ll trip!” Baekhyun shouted at her, but he was running to her himself. “Yah, where were you?”

She looked up at him with a sheepish smile and shrugged, “I had to use the restroom, so I left.”

“Restroom? You literally went as soon as we got here,” he retorted, eyeing her suspiciously. The more he stared at her, the more she felt her face flush. She didn’t really like talking to him about...her time of month. It came unexpectedly, but she was lucky enough to have a female stranger point it out to her that she had leaked and she had a pair of sanitary pads to lend. That was embarrassing enough for her. 

“It was an emergency, you know...the spicy tteokbokki got to me,” she casually lied and ran off towards the car. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow as he watched her run off, then he noticed her pants had changed from jeans to baggy, floral printed pants; the kind that elderly women wear when they garden. 

“When did she buy those? Was she always wearing them?” he wondered. He was completely clueless and followed after her. 

The continued on their drive back home with light music. Jinyoung and Seolhyun were asleep in the back seat while Mina sat uncomfortably in hers. She was having cramps and so she squirmed around to get comfy. Baekhyun had noticed and asked, “You okay there? Is your stomach still upset?”

She looked at him in surprise and sat still almost frozen. 

“Ah, no...I’m okay. Just a little uncomfortable since it’s a little cramped up here,” she lied, once again. She had plenty of leg room and space around her. “I’m really fine, though.”

“You sure? We can make another stop if you need us to,” he offered, but she was quick to decline, so the drive continued on. 

They had dropped Jinyoung off first at his place, then made their way to the Byun residence. Once they arrived, Seolhyun unpacked her things and they all walked into the house. 

“We’re back~!” Seolhyun called out and Bacon was the first to happily greet them. 

“Bacon~!” Mina squealed, happy time see him too. He ran straight to her as she held her arms out while kneeling. She hugged him and soon the Byun’s appeared from the hallway. 

“Welcome back,” Mr. Byun smiled. 

“How was the trip?” Mrs. Byun asked and hugged Seolhyun first before she made her rounds to the others. 

“It was super fun!” Seolhyun grinned and hugged her father. “It was actually a lot better than the past few years we’ve gone. You know, without the parent supervision.”

“Oh, come on,” Mr. Byun snorted. “We’ve always given you two privacy.”

They laughed and his eyes landed on Mina. He couldn’t help, but give a soft smile and hugged her too. She returned the hug. 

“How was it for you?” he asked with a fatherly tone. “Did you have fun?”

She smiled and nodded, “I had a great time there. The most fun I’ve had since.”

He nodded, happy for her. Mrs. Byun clapped her hands once and suggested, “Since you’re all here, why don’t I prepare dinner?”

Baekhyun was quick to decline dinner with the family. Mina and everyone else looked at him in surprise. He cleared his throat at the sudden attention and said, “We would appreciate the dinner, umma, but Mina and I are a little exhausted-“

“I’m not, though,” she tilted her head in confusion. He made a face like ‘play along’, but she didn’t quite understand him. 

“Yes, you are,” he said and wrapped an arm around her waist, catching her by surprise. She gasped at the sudden touch and squirmed in his embrace. 

His parents and Seolhyun watched and seemed to have caught on, so they quietly laughed amongst theirselves. After all, Baekhyun hasn’t had a “night” with Mina alone since their trip, so they understood it immediately that he wanted alone time with her. 

“We could have dinner another time, why don’t you two get some rest back at home,” Mr. Byun chuckled as he gave Baekhyun a wink. Baekhyun smiled upon the gesture and knew his dad was great. 

“What? But-“

“It’s starting to snow, so why don’t we head home before the road gets bad,” Baekhyun interrupt Mina with a rushed voice. “I have the rest of the week off because of New Years, so we’ll schedule a dinner date with my parents some other time.”

Mina was starting to sense something weird from Baekhyun and so she narrowed her eyes at him. He was doing this on purpose, but he wasn’t going to admit it. 

“Yes, we’ll schedule one soon,” Mrs. Byun smiled and Baekhyun grabbed Mina’s hand now. 

“Well then, we’re heading off,” he said and quickly pulled her away. Mina barely said a goodbye to them and they made it to their car. 

The whole drive home, she kept asking him about the way he was acting, but he shrugged it off like he wasn’t acting any different. She was sure he was acting strange, but he only smiled and said, “I think the strange one is you.”

“What kind of comeback is that?” was what she wanted to say, but she held it in and asked instead, “Why are you in such a rush to get back home?”

Once again, he shrugged, but had a smug smile on his face. She was getting a little frustrated with him, but decided it was probably best not to get angry, especially when she was still suffering from cramps. 

They eventually got in their apartment and Bacon was quick to claim his throne on his doggy bed in the corner of the living room. Mina had gone straight to the bathroom to shower and Baekhyun had started to unpack. 

He really missed home, the familiarity of his bedroom and the bed, but most of all, sleeping next to Mina; holding her in his arms. It wasn’t even a long trip, but long enough for him to miss her scent and soft, warm skin. 

He heard the shower shut off and he had a surge of excitement creep in his chest. He smiled happily when Mina stepped out of the bathroom in her sleepwear. 

He always loved the way she looked in sleepwear, even if it was long pjs and an oversized t-shirt, which was more than likely his. But, in a way, he most loved the way she looked after a shower. Her hair dripping wet as she would use her towel to dry it; a fresh scent of coconut, which was her favorite scent and somehow turned to be his favorite too. Her bare-face that revealed her true beauty. He loved everything about her. 

Mina threw the damp towel into the hamper and noticed Baekhyun staring at her with loving eyes. She immediately felt her body grow warm at the sudden attention and she turned away to say, “There’s plenty of warm water left. You should shower since you’re so exhausted.”

He snickered, keeping his eyes locked on her, and made his way towards her. Her back was facing him as she was looking through her phone when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped in surprise, almost dropping her phone, and turned her head to look at him. 

“What’s with you today?” she asked, knitting her brows. “You really have been acting weird today.”

“Have I? Didn’t notice,” he said in a low voice that brought chills up her spine. She knew this tone of voice a little too well and she always liked it. “Maybe it’s because I missed you.”

His breath against the skin of her neck tickled her a little and so she giggled before trying to push him away. 

“Missed me? We were together a lot over the past few days,” she said, not believing it, and looked up at him, but his head was buried in the curve of her neck, giving sweet kisses on her shoulder and neck. Her heart raced at the short kisses. 

“Yeah, but it wasn’t enough for me,” he said in a seductive voice. “I wanted you during the night too.”

She in a breath and felt embarrassed to hear such words. She knew exactly what he meant. 

“I missed all of you,” he whispered into her ear and another shiver ran through her entire body, but she knew they couldn’t do it tonight. He wasn’t holding her tight, so she broke free and turned to look at him with apologetic eyes. 

“I’m sorry, but we can’t tonight,” she softly said and he looked at her confused. 

“Was it too much?” he asked and she shook her head. “Then, why?”

She couldn’t just tell him she was on her period. But, what other lie was there?

“Do you not want to? I can respect that you know,” he said, feeling a little hurt. But, she too, wanted it...just not tonight...or the next night, or the whole week as a matter of fact. 

“That’s not it-“

“Then I see no problem,” he smiled and kissed her. She jerked back a bit, but he pulled her in for another kiss and she got in. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands roamed her waistline. Every touch and kiss sent an exciting feeling through both their bodies. It’s like nothing else mattered, they were only devoted to each other. 

“Hah,” Mina breathed out as Baekhyun trailed kisses down her neck. She was so lost in the moment that when he slipped his hands under her shirt and towards the hook of her bra, she snapped out of it just like how the hooks of her bra snapped. 

“B-Baekhyun! We can’t!” she shouted and pushed him away as hard as she can. She was now panting and covered her chest to prevent her bra from completely falling. 

He looked at her shocked, panting himself from the intense make-out session, and frowned. 

“Do you hate it?” he asked and she could see the hurt on his face. She swallowed hard and shook her head. 

“No, I don’t hate it,” she quietly said and he tilted his head. 

“Then why’d you make me stop if you didn’t hate it?” he asked, stepping closer to her as she backed away, hitting the night stand. 

“T-that’s because...because....”

“Because?”

She bit her lower lip before shouting, “Because I’m on my period!”

Silence. Dead silence. 

“Oh,” was all Baekhyun could say after what felt like an eternity of silence for Mina. Her face was beet red as she hugged her body, her bra still loose. 

“God, I feel like dying,” she groaned and he carefully approached her. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologized and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I was too impatient..did you just get it?”

She glanced up at him and replied, “I got it this morning when a stranger pointed it out. That’s why I rushed to the bathroom and bought those granny pants.”

“Ahhh...,” he said, awkwardly. “I should have known. Uhm, do you want me to...well, help you hook your bra back on?”

“No, I’ll do it,” she said with an awkward voice herself. She was quick to clasp the hooks together and they just stood there not knowing where to go from there. It was an awkward situation for the two. It’s not like he’s never seen her on her period, but it was different because he had other intentions for the night, so that’s what made it awkward for him. 

“Want me to buy you some chocolates?” he offered.

“Please,” she accepted and that was the end of their embarrassing night.