3rd Person POV~ 

“Mina!” she heard his voice and she felt her heart drop. This voice...she recognize it, but it couldn’t be him. 

She stepped back out onto the balcony and looked over the railing to see him still staring up at her. 

“Joohyun...,” she whispered his name. He was in thin clothes and it was freezing out there, so she was quick to open the door for him. 

“Hey,” he hesitantly greeted. 

“W-what? How?” she questioned, not knowing what to ask first. But, that wasn’t important right now and she shook those thoughts away. “No, uhm, come in. It’s freezing out.”

He was hesitant. 

“Please, Joohyun,” she softly said and he stepped forward into the house. Mina shut the door behind them and looked at him. She gasped upon seeing his appearance. 

Thin appearance. Pale skin. Fresh bruises. 

“What happened?” she frowned and reached her hand up to touch his face, but he was quick to turn away. She felt so bad. 

“It’s nothing,” he quietly said and lowered his head, his hood covering his face. 

“Nothing? Don’t tell me that,” she said, wanting to help him, but she saw him shivering under his light clothes. “Before that, let me get you something warm to drink.”

He was about to decline the offer, but she gave him a look to shut him up. She wasn’t glaring at him, just tried to be a little intimidating. 

She led him to the kitchen and had him sit. She grabbed a blanket and covered his body, then went on to warm up some green tea and heat up some left over soup she had made earlier in the day. 

“Hopefully those will warm him up,” she thought. 

As she waited for his meal, she glanced at him and he still had a downcast. She had so many questions to ask him. Like, where he’s been; what those bruises meant; how he found her; why he came to her.... But, it was probably best to hold them in for now. She figured he didn’t want to talk just yet. 

His food was warmed up in minutes and she served him, but he didn’t touch it at first. 

“Are you really just going to stare at it after warming it up for you?” she asked, almost like a nagging mother. 

No response. 

“Joohyun,” she sighed his name and tried to find his eyes, until she saw something drop. It was a tear. It broke her heart to see him like that. 

“This is my fault...,” she thought to herself. 

“Please, eat. Then, we’ll talk.”

She grabbed the spoon in front of him and handed it to him. He sniffled and slowly reached for it, holding it loosely in his hand. 

He eventually began to eat in silence with a few sniffles here and there. She watched him eat his fill, feeling full herself knowing he was eating well right now. When was the last time he had a decent meal?

He finished quick and remained silent. Maybe they weren’t going to talk today as she was hoping for, but it was probably best to let him get some rest. She needed time to collect herself too. 

“Let me prepare some clothes for you and you can take a warm shower. I’m sure Mr. Kim has a few things here that’ll fit you,” Mina said and got up to leave when he said, “I’m sorry.”

She stopped midway and looked at him with surprised eyes. He still kept his gaze low, but he repeated it once again. “I’m sorry.”

She sighed and shook her head. 

“It’s not your fault,” she softly said and felt her heart clench. It’s not his fault...he shouldn’t have to blame himself. “Go clean yourself up and get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

And, she left with that. 

*****

Baekhyun tossed and turned in bed, falling in and out of sleep. He’s been like this ever since Mina left. He was so used to her presence that he felt her existence gone. It was unfamiliar and lonely. 

He sighed and opened his eyes to see the time. It was still the middle of the night; dark, and cold. He was lacking sleep, but he knew he had to get some rest before morning hit. He had a very important meeting in the morning  that he needed to rest his mind to focus, but nothing was working. 

He rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling and wondered what Mina was doing. He missed her a lot more than he imagined. He didn’t think he’d be this way. 

“Do you think she’s thinking about us?” he asked Bacon, who was curled up next to him. He was fast asleep, comfy as ever. Baekhyun was jealous of this pup for sleeping so well. “I wonder how she’s doing...I miss her.”

He sighed and grabbed a pillow to hold in his arms. 

“I should probably get some sleep. I’ve got a busy schedule tomorrow,” he said to himself, but he wasn’t tired at all. Even so, he closed his eyes and hugged the pillow tighter as if he was holding Mina.

Morning came and Baekhyun was awaken from his alarm clock. He didn’t sleep well last night, so he didn’t have the energy to get up; he couldn’t even open his lids. He just wanted to stay in and do absolutely nothing. 

“Baekhyun-ssi, it’s time to get up,” he heard a man’s voice and he groaned, knowing who it was. 

“Please, just give me five more minutes, hyung,” he whined in bed, not moving an inch. “I’m so tired.”

Standing at the doorway of the bedroom was Secretary Moon. Since Mina left, Baekhyun has had trouble sleeping and getting up, so Secretary Moon volunteered to come every morning to help Baekhyun start his day. 

“You have a meeting to attend in less than two hours. We have to drop by the coffee shop to pick up some drinks for your guest too,” Secretary Moon said, unfazed by Baekhyun’s laziness. 

Baekhyun slowly lifted his head to look at his secretary, who was looking at the time on his wristwatch. Baekhyun wished this man wasn’t so punctual with time, but that’s what makes him a keeper at the company. 

“I’ve already had your breakfast ordered to be delivered to the company by the time we get there. I’ll have Ms. Oh prepare the conference rooms for your meeting...,” Baekhyun was starting to zone out on his schedule for the day as he buried his face into the pillow he held on to all night. 

“...lastly, Mrs. Kim wishes to meet with you,” Secretary Moon said, catching a breath. 

Just hearing her name made Baekhyun’s chest boil. He really didn’t like her after all she’s done to him and Mina. She’s the last person he’d ever want to meet. She’s the reason for their break-up. Everything would have been fine if it wasn’t for her and her schemes. 

“Did she say what for?” he muffled into the pillow. 

“She did not mention anything in particular,” Secretary Moon answered and Baekhyun shifted his head to the side to lay on the pillow. 

“If it’s nothing important, then there’s no need to meet. After all, her daughter and I cut ties, so there’s no benefits for her or me,” he said in a tired voice. Although it was true that he and Mina separated, they had plans to get back together; of course, no one knew that and everyone believed they cut loose for good. It was for the best to keep it a secret, even including his own family. That way, people can’t use them as each other’s weakness. 

“If you come across her again, tell her she has no business with the Byun Group anymore,” he said, this time with a stern voice and slowly sat up. “Unless she apologizes for the things she’s done to me and Mina, I’ll reconsider.”

Secretary Moon nodded, understanding what he meant. He didn’t know the details of the mother-daughter relationship, but he was well aware of how much Mrs. Kim hated Mina. He had done his own research on Mrs. Kim during the time he was assisting Mr. Byun on figuring out her schemes. But, ever since the young couple’s break up, he was told to drop the case and move on as if it never happened. 

“Should I tell Baekhyun everything that I’ve investigated in?” he thought to himself as he watched him get out of bed with a big yawn. “Or, should I let the two handle it theirselves?”

He stood there, pondering about whether to tell him his findings or not. 

“I’m going to take a shower, then we can head to the office,” Baekhyun said, not noticing Secretary Moon’s expression of deep thoughts, and left the room. 

Secretary Moon let out a long sigh and pulled out his phone, dialing the office’s number. 

“Yes, Mr. Moon,” a man answered on the other line. 

“Please have all the necessary documents ready when we arrive,” he said while looking at his wristwatch. “We should be there in half an hour.”

“Yes, I’ll have everything prepared,” the man replied. 

“Also...tell Mrs. Kim, Baekhyun will not be able to meet her today. Please out.”

“Very well. Anything else?”

Secretary Moon hesitated for a moment as he thought of his investigations. Should he tell Baekhyun? About Mrs. Kim’s tax invasion? About her affairs with numerous businessmen just to get what she wants? 

“...Mr. Moon?” the man asked as he had remained silent for quite some time. 

“Oh...excuse me,” Secretary Moon cleared his throat, snapping out of his thoughts. “No. There is nothing else needed.”

And with that, the two men hung up and Baekhyun had returned from his shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, baring his muscular upper body. 

“Did you just get off the phone with the office?” he asked as he moved around his secretary. 

“Yes, they are preparing for your arrival,” the older man answered. 

Baekhyun hummed in response with a small nod. He opened his closet, bare without Mina’s clothes and belongings. He was fairly used to this sight, but it still gave him a feeling of longing. He sighed at the half empty closet and picked a dark gray button up dress shirt, throwing it on the bed. 

As he was picking his clothes, Secretary Moon excused himself to give him space to change and entered the living room. He saw Bacon laying in his tiny bed in the corner and smiled. The pup looked up and wagged it’s tail upon receiving some sort of attention and hopped out of his bed, trotting over to him. 

“Sorry, buddy, I’m going to have to borrow your dad all day again today,” he said, giving Bacon lots of scratches to the head. He gave a little chuckle seeing how much the dog was enjoying his touch and noticed the tag on his collar. 

His hand went to the tag and saw something engraved on it. 

‘B.BxL.M’

He smiled upon seeing the initials of Baekhyun and Mina, but the smile faded and he felt sadness creep into his chest. 

“Why did the two of you have to separate like that?” he whispered, petting Bacon again. “You two loved each other so much.”