To be able to see you again,
to be able to lay my eyes on you again;
living, breathing, and existing,
then every hurt would be worth it.

Every hurt would be worth it.

The moment Luhan's plane landed, he immediately hired a taxi to take him to their coffee shop, knowing that Chanyeol and Minseok would both be there. He must get there immediately and hope that everything would be okay in the future as their lives would be changed, hopefully for the better. Luhan needed to talk to them first and set every record straight before he goes and inform Baekhyun that he found the man he was looking for.

"This is your fault for not trying hard enough in knowing their past," the private detective chided himself for the hundredth time now while he kept on looking at his watch every now and then. Why did it have to snow today and cause this traffic jam, out of all days in the year?

If only he knew who Chanyeol's husband was, he would've been able to connect the dots easily. But he always thought it would be best if he just let the old memories blur and Chanyeol's heart heal rather than insist on knowing the lives they had before he met them.

It was also what Minseok told him to do, as it was the best for the father and son duo, and he followed Minseok as he always did. Things would've been different, however, if he knew just a bit more information than he was told.

Clutching the photograph he asked for from the coffee shop owner, Luhan prayed that everything will work out. Especially with Baekhyun’s amnesia, Chanyeol’s hopeful and fragile heart, and Chanhyun’s entire life on the line because of the information he holds.

x

Chanyeol, accompanied by the person who introduced himself as Baekhyun’s secretary named Jongdae, carefully took an unconscious Baekhyun to the hospital. The emergency room was a little busy because of the minor accidents experienced by commuters caused by the weather. Thankfully, he knew Kyungsoo, a nurse in that hospital; he was able to get a room immediately.

After being checked for his vitals, Baekhyun was wheeled into the private room, and Chanyeol and Jongdae talked to the nurse about the situation. After being told that the extreme pain on Baekhyun’s head must’ve caused his fainting and that there was nothing else to worry about, only then were the two able to release their breaths.

“Thank God it wasn’t serious. This has never happened before,” Jongdae commented, thinking of the other reasons that could’ve caused his boss’s sudden fainting. He knew the other has been sick and was in rehabilitation before assuming the role of the company’s CEO a few years ago, he just didn’t know the severity of it. “Thank you… mister?”

“Oh. Chanyeol.” The taller offered his hand in introduction and they shook hands in greeting. Jongdae was glad the owner of the bakery was nice enough to help them with this situation. “What do you mean it never happened before?”

“Oh, that. Baekhyun didn’t have any relapses of his sickness ever since he started working. I didn’t know his condition could get this worse.”

Chanyeol frowned at that information but before he could ask some more, the nurse went back in to ask for other additional information for the patient’s record. Jongdae immediately went to the nurse even before Chanyeol could say a thing.

Well, he thought, he doesn’t know what was happening with Baekhyun’s life anyway. He did miss four years of it.

Chanyeol stood awkwardly at the side and eyed the empty, pristinely white hallways as the two continue to talk to each other. He eavesdropped on the answers given by Jongdae and secretly smiled to himself upon hearing how successful Baekhyun was now. He’s happy and proud of him despite the heartache and disappointment he’s feeling due to Baekhyun’s absence.

He also observed the man clad in a business suit. Jongdae seemed okay to him. Kind and honest, although Chanyeol could feel the curiosity from Jongdae’s intent stares directed at him. He’s not surprised though. Chanyeol would be curious too if someone who was basically a stranger started to act all concerned and worried about your boss on the first meeting, and not just as a stranger worried for another.

Chanyeol looked back to them when he heard them call for his attention. “Chanyeol-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“The nurse would like to also ask for your details for the form, if that’s okay?” Jongdae smiled shyly at him, but Chanyeol waved it off. “It’s okay, no problem.”

Chanyeol went forward and gave all the details asked of him as Jongdae watched from the sidelines. He wondered what could’ve been the reason that this stranger was very willing to take them to the hospital immediately. Not even Jongin seemed to be interested to go, and he was the supposed fiancé of his boss.

The secretary blinked back to reality when he heard the next question, and was about to intervene because Chanyeol was just a stranger so that question need not be answered when he was shocked by what he heard instead.

“And how are you related to the patient, sir?”

“I’m his husband.”

x

Luhan arrived to a tiny commotion in their quaint shop. It even had the store sign flipped to closed and that rarely happened if it was business hours. When he opened the door with a questioning ‘hello,’ all the current occupants of the shop turned towards him. Minseok, Sehun, Chanhyun, and a new face all looked at him. The first two bore faces full of relief, Chanhyun was excited to see him and the last one was just curious, although his face looked really familiar to Luhan for some reason.

After being let go by Sehun, Chanhyun immediately ran towards him and he bent down to scoop the child up in his arms.”Hey, how’s my favorite nephew? Did you have fun while I was away?”

Chanhyun nodded excitedly and started to share some stories about their recent trip to a resort which Luhan had to miss because of work. “And then I saw Appa! Daddy wouldn’t believe me at first but then appa was here earlier!” The child then frowned and started to be sad. “But appa was sick so daddy had to take him to the hospital.”

Luhan frowned at Chanhyun’s repetitive mention of an appa. He knew who Chanhyun’s appa was and it was impossible Baekhyun would remember him and seek them out unless… “Minseok what was the resort you went to again?” The detective now turned towards his husband, who only signalled to Sehun to take Chanhyun away for the moment. “I will tell you later, Sehun. And maybe you need to go too Mister..., this is a discussion for us husbands first.”

Jongin, flushed, nodded and followed Sehun but introduced himself first to the new arrival. “Kim Jongin, nice to meet you.” Luhan accepted his handshake and smiled a little to him. That's why he was familiar, the fiancèe of his client and a world renowned model in his shop. “Luhan, likewise.”

The employee slash unofficial family member of the group went straight to Chanhyun, promising him ice cream and cake so he would not make a fuss before taking him back to the office. Even if it was rare that he does make one, Sehun still wanted to offer him some because he has a feeling his life was not going to be the same after this day. Kim Jongin closely followed behind.

Once they were out of sight and ear shot, Luhan turned towards his husband with hands on his hip. “Care to tell me what happened?”

Luhan already has a good hunch about what happened, especially when Minseok wouldn’t meet his eyes when he asked about the resort name, Chanhyun’s story, and the presence of Kim Jongin in their bakery. This would all only lead to one thing, and he needed Minseok to confirm it himself.

“I didn’t tell you the whole story about our past back in the city, and now it has come back to haunt us. I don't even know if I should be happy, shocked, or angry. Ultimately, I just want you to hug me for a moment, please.”

Setting his personal feelings aside, Luhan went to sit beside Minseok and hugged him. It took them a few minutes before Minseok could calm down from crying, with Luhan comforting him. “I need to tell you the truth, Luhan.”

They let go of each other, and the detective reached inside his bag and gave it to Minseok. “Is this what you were about to tell me?”

Minseok took the photograph and gasped when he saw the image within. “H-how did you get this, Luhan? I-”

“Remember my current client? The one I was very secretive about. He’s Byun Baekhyun and I think based on this picture that you also know him.”

Minseok nodded. “What did you find out?”

“Only the records after his accident, no records from the years of his life before his freak accident. Will you fill in the blanks for me Minseok?”

His husband nodded, and started to tell him how Baekhyun and Chanyeol were a couple that he treated as his younger brothers a couple of years ago. A couple that he protected from those that were against their relationship and later on, marriage. How the two were the happiest couple he’s ever seen and how they were happier when they had Chanhyun.

But it all had to end when Baekhyun had met his accident, and what they thought was his end. Chanyeol wasn’t even allowed to see him nor attend his funeral because he was flown out in secret by his family. The Byuns hated Chanyeol the most, the man they perceived to be the one who ruined Baekhyun’s future and their family’s legacy.

“That explains the missing hospital records and the shady way they dealt with the staff in the Seoul Hospital.”

“Yeah, the Byuns are so powerful. I just couldn’t believe they were able to do something as cruel as this. To separate a family away from each other.”

“What do you mean?” Luhan was scared, but he was sure what the other would say the next moment. And it was to confirm his suspicions about what happened in the shop before he arrived.

“He was here earlier. He was seen by Chanhyun the other day and we didn’t believe him. Chanyeol did run towards him but he never talked to me about that day. Imagine our shock when we entered the shop and there he was, sitting with Chanhyun on his lap.”

Minseok paused and stared far away. “I never thought I’ll be able to see him alive again after I've accepted that he is no longer of this world. But to see him again, and knowing he was still breathing but never really reached out and looked for us, was very hurtful. Imagine how Chanyeol is feeling right now. I’m so worried about him. Before we could talk to him, he fainted after Chanyeol called out to him.”

Luhan sighed. He has been late after all and this was what he feared them to feel — abandonment. After the few times he met Baekhyun, he doesn’t believe the CEO has the capability to leave his family behind if only he