CHAPTER 21

[Byun Baek Hyun’s POV]

Night has already fallen by the time we arrived in Jeju. Manager Song and I did this intentionally to avoid the greater possibility of getting noticed by people during the daylight. I jumped out of our rented van, my feet sending billows of dust as they hit the pavement.

I heaved a deep breath as I regarded the house standing in front of me. It was a two-storey house situated not too far from the ocean. I could easily trace the smell of salt and water wafting around me – Hanna’s favorite scent. Discreetly, my mind wandered back to one of the million conversations I had with her. I could almost hear the fervency in her voice as she told me about how her family’s house looks like and how her parents chose to just have it renovated instead of transferring to a new home. This establishment used to be single-storied but due to Hanna’s efforts and perseverance, she managed to turn it into a beautiful two-storey house solely for her family.

A smile tugged on my lips. She just never fails to leave me in awe. The way she gives everything she has and does everything she can for the people she loves… she is really a woman to die for.

Manager’s presence beside me brought me back to reality.

“They’re still up,” she said, pointing a finger to one of the windows. You could see the light emanating from it and the moving shadows of the people inside.

 I heaved another deep breath before squaring my shoulders and walking towards the entrance.

“This is it,” I muttered to myself as I clamped a hand on the doorbell and pressed.

There was a long moment of silence before shuffling came from behind the door followed by the sounds of bolts being unlocked.

“Just a second!” a singsong voice called from inside and I had to smile again as I recognized the resemblance. The speaker almost sounded like Hanna, only she sounded more matured and a little raspier. She must be Hanna’s mom, I wondered.

I gave Manager Song a sidelong glance before the door in front of me finally burst open and my gaze lingered on a woman – probably in her early forties – with long black hair, deep set eyes, and a warm smile. My heart fluttered for a brief moment before I reminded myself this isn’t Hanna I am looking at.

The woman’s eyes widened and her smile faltered as she recognized who I am.

“Baekhyun?” she gasped, her tone a mixture of surprise and disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

I lowered my eyes as I racked my brain for a concrete answer. I was so sure I had everything I needed to say imprinted on my mind before coming but now that I’m here; all my practice just seem to fly out the window.

I was biting my lip nervously when the woman spoke again, “Manager Song. I didn’t see you there.”

“Omonim, I already told you. Just call me Ji Hye,” Manager replied and I could easily tell by her voice that she’s smiling.

My eyes darted back to Hanna’s mother when I heard her clap her hands as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Oh goodness, where did my manners go?” she muttered to herself as she pulled the door wide open and returned her kind smile. “Come in.”

Hesitantly, I bowed my head and stepped inside. I waited for Manager Song to enter and let Hanna’s mother walk past us before trailing the two women from behind. I could feel myself slowly drowning in self-consciousness, my hand instinctively reaching up to fix my tousled hair. I instantly regret not looking at a mirror before coming. God knows how messy I look after that long heck of a ride.

“We’ve just started dinner. You might want to---“

The woman’s words were cut off by a man’s voice – low and husky yet gentle.

“Who was---“

The three of us were in what I predicted is the living room when a well-built man, presumably at the same age at Hanna’s mother, walked in.

“---oh,” he blurted, freezing on his tracks the moment he caught glimpse of us. His eyes raked me from head to toe and then back, making me squirm internally. Damn it, I really should’ve made an effort to look good tonight.

“So it’s Baekhyun, huh,” he murmured and the kindness in his voice is enough to make me stare at him. He has on a wide smile which greatly contradicts all the situations I have in mind. I really didn’t expect much when I decided to come here but I absolutely did not expect Hanna’s parents to treat me nicely. After all, I was the one who broke their daughter’s heart.

The man greeted Manager Song with the same amount of hospitality before I felt his arm drape over my shoulders, making me tense up in an instant. He pressed my shoulder blade lightly before saying, “Dinner’s served. Why don’t you join us?”

“Uhh, sir…” I stammered, his mere presence making me gulp every few seconds. “T-There is something I wanted to talk to you about…”

This time, Hanna’s mom answered, “We can talk about it later, dear. Let’s eat first. You two look worn out.”

She patted my cheek tenderly before smiling and walking away. Hanna’s father gave me another squeeze before pulling me alongside him. I tried to sneak a peek at Manager Song who’s walking silently behind us. Help, I wanted to tell her but she only gave me a silent giggle and a shrug.

In the end, I was hauled helplessly into their kitchen where I gazed eye-to-eye with a boy who looked so much like his father. Ryu Jin, my mind effortlessly recalled his name.

The boy was seated on the dining table, a bowl of what looked like a ginseng chicken soup laid in front of him. His eyes were wide when he first saw me but they slowly hardened and turned feral as he slowly recognized who I was.

“You,” he muttered, placing his spoon down on the table and rising from his seat. He walked to stand in front of me, his height barely reaching my shoulders. I was completely disoriented with the thousand thoughts running in my mind – Hanna’s stories about him and all their adventures when they were both young – that I was taken off guard when the boy suddenly began yelling and punching my chest with his small fists.

I heard Hanna’s parents gasp as they tried to yank the boy away from me while I continued to stare at him in wonder.

“You evil monster!” the boy screamed. “Why did you hurt my noona?! Why did you make her cry?!”

I flinched as his words stung me. It was one thing to know how much I’ve hurt Hanna and another thing to hear it coming from her own mouth. But to have his brother throwing punches at me while shouting the truth at my face is different. It felt like being stabbed over and over. Ryu Jin is young, but even he is aware of the damage I’ve done to his sister.

It took Hanna’s parents quite a few attempts before they succeeded in extricating their son from me. I could feel their worried gazes at me but I forced myself to smile and lean down to meet Ryu Jin’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered sincerely. “I’m really really sorry.”

“You’re a monster,” he spat bitterly, his eyes still filled with anger and hatred. “I should have known L hyung is kinder than you. He deserves my noona more than you do.”

My pain must have been more evident because Hanna’s parents yelled at the same time, “Ryu Jin!”

Sensing the long tirade coming, the boy flashed one hostile look at me before running away from the scene. It was after a few moments that I heard a door banging shut from upstairs and realized he must have locked himself up in his room.

I sighed and closed my eyes, guilt twisting my stomach into knots.

“W-We’re sorry about that,” Hanna’s mother spoke. “Ryu Jin… he’s just… he loves his sister so much so when he learned about the news…”

“It’s okay, Ma’am,” I croaked, realizing this was the first time I’m speaking directly to her. “I… I understand…”

“Let’s just forget about what happened and eat comfortably, okay?” Hanna’s father spoke this time as he took the seat at the head of the table and motioned us to settle down. I felt Manager Song’s hand wrap in mine comfortingly as we sat. I gave her a slight nod to tell her I am okay.

I was aware of how much Hanna’s parents are trying to brighten up the mood during the whole dinner. They’d ask random questions about Seoul and our group’s activities, obviously skipping the parts that might unintentionally lead to Hanna. I really appreciate their efforts in doing so but I’d really rather they didn’t. It only makes me feel worse to have them treating me so kindly when all I actually deserve is their anger and maybe a lot of futile words.

“So how’s the food, Baekhyun?” the woman asked, eyeing me affectionately.

“It’s so delicious, Ma’am. Really really delicious,” I replied without second thought. It’s becoming clearer to me now where Hanna got her talent in cooking. Actually, now that I start to think more of it, I’m slowly realizing that Hanna strongly resembles her mother by looks. But in terms of personality and aura, she’s more of like her father.

“Oh come on, boy. Where did the ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ go?” her dad asked.

I lowered my eyes as I replied, “I… I don’t know, Sir. I just don’t think I should---“

“Nonsense!” he interrupted. “Call us ‘mom’ and ‘dad’! Nothing should stop you from calling us that!”

“Uhh… Y-Yes… dad…” I muttered shakily. I felt Manager Song chuckle beside me.

“So, Baekhyun… You said there’s something you want to talk to us about?” Hanna’s mother spoke and instantly, the mood shifted a complete 180 degrees.

“Y-Yes, Ma’am. I mean… mom. That’s the whole reason we went to visit you here,” I answered, taking another glance at Manager Song. She only shrugged which reminded me she has absolutely no idea what I came here for.

“I think it would be better for us to just settle this at the living room,” her dad suggested and we all complied. Manager Song and I made our way back to the living room while Hanna’s parents excused themselves for a moment as I they cleaned up in the kitchen. They were back after a few minutes with a tray of steaming coffee.

“Shall we begin?” the man began, crossing his legs as his wife divided the coffee among us. “I don’t want to pretend I have no idea on what this conversation is all about but I’m going to give you your freedom and your chance, Baekhyun. Say whatever you want.”

He gave me an encouraging smile while his wife gave me a soft pat on the hand. I closed my eyes and heaved a deep breath before slowly leaving my seat and dropping to the floor on bended knees.

A loud gasp muffled in the living room.

“Baek,” Manager Song blurted behind me in a mix of alarm and pity.

I ignored them and kept my head low, my eyes focused on the floor and my hands resting properly on my lap. I began to speak, “More than a year ago, Ma’am, Sir, I made you a promise – a huge promise to never hurt your daughter or make her cry, to never break her heart, and to always stay by her side. But unfortunately, I failed to keep them.”

“B-Baekhyun... Darling… You don’t need to do this,” the woman spoke uneasily as she held my arm and tried to pull me off the ground. I bit my lip and kept myself in position.

“I’m not planning to give any explanation to defend myself or any excuse to change what you think of me,” I continued, undeterred. “But instead… I want to apologize. I want to apologize for I what I did – for not holding on to my promises, for hurting your child, for making her cry, and for breaking her heart.”

Drops of tears began to stain my hands but I continued without halt.

“There are plenty of things I regret doing, Ma’am, Sir. And one of them is breaking your trust and your faith in me. I have disrespected you and probably hurt you in some way. And I know there is no proper way for me to pay my apologies but to come here and apologize to you personally. Because, you might not believe me, but I’ve regretted not keeping my promises the moment I have broken them.”

I could hear soft cries emanating from somewhere near me but I can’t figure out whether it’s from Manager Song or Hanna’s mother. My tears are intensifying too but I forced myself to keep on going.

“Your daughter is nothing but dear to me. I love her so much, more than words could ever tell. And yes, up until now, I still do and it never changes. But I can’t be with her anymore, Ma’am, Sir. And I know you’d understand me if I tell you I am doing it for her and what is best for her.”

“Baekhyun… Baekhyun-ssi… Please stand up…” the woman kept on begging me but I ignored her amidst all tears.

“For all the pain, dismay, and disappointment I’ve caused you… I am really really sorry. Please forgive me,” I spoke with finality as I slowly lowered myself to the floor into a formal bow.

***

“We have two rooms available. One is in the second floor, that’s Hanna’s new room. The other one is here on the first floor. It’s her old room. She wished for us to maintain i