Chapter 22- Hearing It For The First Time

          Mina woke up from her nap and went to the kitchen to grab a cup of cold water. Since she was released from the hospital not too long ago, she had to be careful and watch her health. Just as she was drinking her water, the doorbell rang and she wondered who it was. 

She went to open the door and saw that it was Chanyeol, of course. 

"Have you eaten yet?" Chanyeol asked with a wide smile. 

"No... I was just about to-" 

"Good. I can cook for you," Chanyeol said as he walked into the house with grocery bags. 

Chanyeol began to chop up ingredients while Mina remained seated on the couch since she was asked to by Chanyeol. He didn't want her to use up too much energy. While Chanyeol was cooking, Mina was staring at him and saw how hard working he was. He wanted to make a proper yet delicious meal for her. 

When he was done cooking, he brought the pot of food over and set it on a small table in front of the couch. 

"Here it is," Chanyeol said as he carefully placed it on the table. 

He then removed the cover to the pot, and steam came flying out. 

"Wow," Mina said in astonishment as she stared at the food Chanyeol prepared. 

"Since eating porridge might be a little boring, I added chicken in there. My mom used to make these for me whenever I wasn't feeling well, and it made me feel better after that. It's really good!" Chanyeol explained.

"I know. You cooked it for me once," Mina said with a slight smile.

"Really?" Chanyeol asked as he thought about it. "Aha. That's right," he said when he finally remember. 

"Anyways, thank you," Mina said before she took a taste of the porridge with chicken. 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol was staring at her and anxiously waiting to see her reaction. 

"It might not be as good as my mom's," Chanyeol said. 

"Hmmm! Wow! It's actually really good!" Mina said after she took a bite of it. 

"Really? Don't lie!"

"I'm not," Mina replied as she took another bite of it. 

Chanyeol smiled and felt proud of himself for cooking this dish for Mina. 

"Are you going to eat?" Mina asked. 

"No, you eat," Chanyeol replied. 

Mina continued to eat the dish that Chanyeol cooked for her. Meanwhile, Chanyeol kept himself busy by staring at Mina. Just by watching her eat, it showed that she gained her appetite again and it made him happy. That was all he cared about. 

After Mina was done eating, Chanyeol decided to head home since it was getting late.

"Thanks again," Mina said with a smile as she walked with Chanyeol outside. 

"No, don't worry about it," Chanyeol said with a smile back. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow,"

"No!" Mina quickly said. "I... Have somewhere to go tomorrow,"

"I know. That's why I'll see you tomorrow," Chanyeol said. 

"What do you mean?"

"I know what tomorrow means to you. That's why I'll see you tomorrow so we can go together," Chanyeol stated. "You can go in now. Goodnight!" he continued as he waved to Mina. 

"Chanyeol!" Mina quickly called before he could leave. "Don't come,"

"What?" Chanyeol asked as he turned to look at her. 

"You've already been taking care of me for the past few days. It's time for you to rest and take care of yourself. So don't come tomorrow. I'll be fine," Mina said before she walked inside her house. 

Chanyeol was unable to move or talk as he watched Mina walk away. But he wanted to be by her side. He was still worried for her.

Baekhyun parked in front of a beautiful large house and got out of the car. He couldn't help but look around in astonishment with his eyes and mouth wide open. Everything looked so similar yet so different to him. He felt a sense of nolstagia as he stared at this house in front of him. What better place is there to be than home. 

It has been a couple of days since another controversy occured between Baekhyun and Mina. Fans were disappointed and even mad at Baekhyun when they learned that he went to the hospital to visit Mina. They couldn't understand why Baekhyun would do that. Didn't he say Mina cheated on him and broke his heart? Was he just lying the whole time? Was there something more going on? 

And because of this, Baekhyun decided to go back to his hometown to visit his home in order to get away from the chaos and stress. He wanted a break, and this was the perfect place to rest and be stress free of everything that was happening... Or so he thought. 

Baekhyun slowly opened the front door and walked inside the house. He didn't want to make a noise because the house was filled with silence. Was anybody home?

He decided to make himself at home for now since this was his home afterall. He walked around the livingroom to look at pictures of him and his parents when they were younger. He couldn't believe how fast time has passed since he took these pictures. It felt as if it was just yesterday where he smiled proudly with his gap tooth. Just then, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he knew who it had to be. 

Baekhyun's mom walked down the stairs with no knowledge that her son was waiting for her in the livingroom. When she reached the last couple steps of the stairs, her eyes finally spotted her son who she hasn't seen in what seemed like forever. 

"Baekhyun? Son?!" she yelled as she quickly ran down the rest of the stairs to hug her son. 

"Hi mom!" Baekhyun said with a smile as he hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing here?!" 

"To visit you of course! Why else?" 

"Oh I've missed you so much!" she continued to yell as she gave him a thousand kisses on the cheeks. 

Baekhyun was relieved and happy to see his mom. Nothing was better than coming home and reuniting with a love one in order to forget everything that was happening. 

"What? You have somewhere to go?" Baekhyun asked in disappointment as he followed his mom to the kitchen and took a seat in front of the counter. 

"You should have called me earlier so we can spend time together another day instead of wasting your time like this," his mom said as she was preparing some small snacks for her son. 

"Is it necessary to call you? You should always be free to hangout with your son," Baekhyun said like a child as he took a bite of the food his mom was still preparing. 

"I know son, but I can't today. I have something important to do," 

"Like what? What could be more important than your own son?" 

"Aigoo. Stop acting like a baby. I'm going to visit Mr. Kwon today. Want to come?" Baekhyun's mom asked. 

"Mr... Kwon? Wait, you mean, Mina's dad?" Baehkyun asked in confusion. 

"Yes. I've been so busy lately and haven't been able to visit him. Today was my only day available," 

"Why would you go visit him for? That's my ex-girlfriend's dad. You know, the one that cheated on me years ago," Baekhyun reminded. 

"It doesn't matter if he's your ex-girlfriend's dad. He was originally my friend to begin with, so I have to pay respect to him," 

"Respect? Why do you have to do that? You're paying respect to a man that raised a cheater?" Baekhyun heartlessly said as he reached over to grab food. 

"Don't say that!" Baekhyun's mom yelled as she smacked his hand away from getting any food. "Didn't I raise you better than that!"

"Why are you hitting me for?! It's the truth!" Baekhyun complained like a child as he touched his hand that was slapped. 

"This guy. It's been a while since I've given you a good beating huh?" Baekhyun's mom said as she reached over to give him a few smacks on the arm. 

"What! I'm being serious! Why do you have to pay respect to him for?"

"What?" Baekhyun's mom asked as she just stared at her son. 

"You said you have to pay respect to him. Do you owe him something or what?"

"Byun Baekhyun. You're kidding me right now right?"

"What are you talking about? What is there to kid around about?" Baekhyun continued to say like a child. 

"You really... Don't know?" Baekhyun's mom asked in disbelief. 

"What what what?! Know about what?!" Baekhyun raised his voice as he couldn't stand this anymore. 

"Son... Mina's dad passed away 4 years ago," 

And suddenly, Baekhyun felt his heart drop as he couldn't think, hear, breathe, or blink. What did he just hear? Did he hear correctly? 

Baekhyun continued to stay quiet as he was trying to process everything in his head. For some reason, this sudden news didn't sound familiar to him. Why was he hearing this for the first time? Mina's dad passed away 4 years ago? Why was he never aware of this?

4 years ago, Baekhyun and Mina broke up... And that's where everything occurred. 

~End of Chapter 22~