TIP #17: ”Quand il me prend dans les bras Il me parle tout bas, je vois la vie en rose”

(When he takes me in his arms and speaks to me softly, I see the world through rose-colored glasses)

“He must be crazy he must be crazy he must be crazy!!!!!!”

In Hya chatters absent-mindedly as she flaps on her hot cheeks. She figures that the stressful revelation of his childhood must have tip Baekhyun over. She storms off and her heels clank with every step on the concrete.

Scratching her elbow, In Hya pauses in the street and does a double take to look at his apartment again.

“Y-Y-You, you ert!!!!!!!!!!!!”

In Hya seethes through her teeth as she remembers his hearthrobing sentence. Who is he to mess up her heart?!

“W-Why would he ask me to s-stay he must’ve gone crazy.” She scoffs incredulously, “I feel like I’m going crazy too.”

She carries on walking, pursing her bottom lip and scrunching her nose.

“Was punching his face a little overboard?”

* *

Baekhyun groans as he buttons up the formal shirt over his body.

“Gahhhh that In Hya.” He nudges his nose with a knuckle and winces at the sore spot, “She didn’t have to resort to violence..”

He slams the cupboard door shut and continues to press his palm over the wooden door.

“Oh well, nothing less expected of her.”

Now that he thinks of it, he must have been out of his mind asking her to stay. No, there is no intent at all, it was all in a moment of stupor. Did he even ask that sort of question is a sensible mind? Probably not. It’s like his brain is not even coordinating simultaneously with his system.

He turns on the beeper and the car headlights flash. Baekhyun hops in and puts over his seatbelt across. He swipes away the cigarette box on top of the compartment to make space for his keys. Recently, he’s not really interested in smoking.

He soon arrives at the old town after circling the quiet streets and pulls his car by the sidewalk.

“Oh Baekhyun!” Mrs Kwon claps her hands in bask and he waves a little ‘hi’, “You haven’t been coming as often, so I thought something happened.”

Baekhyun nods apologetically and Mrs Kwon points to the kitchen, “I’m baking some meatloaf.”

It then adds up where this fragrant aroma is coming from and all of a sudden, his stomach rumbles.

Mrs Kwon taps his shoulder knowingly and winks, “Looks like someone’s hungry. I’ll whip some up for you! They are almost done in the oven.”

Baekhyun lets out a whimsical grin seeing as to how Mrs Kwon is so eager to let him taste her dishes that she’s practically bursting with energy. Not that he’s complaining or anything, since he’s being pampered with endless treats.

“Mrs Kwon, can I use your charger by the way?”

“Go ahead!” She hollers from a distance.

Baekhyun gets up and heads over to the unoccupied socket. He plugs the cable into his phone and lets it rest on top of her television. His eyes trail to the little photo frame decorating the lacey cloth, now having a better look since there isn’t a refraction shining on the glass.

He lifts the beaded frame up, holding it closer to his face and feels his eyes widen in curiosity.

Baekhyun stares hard at the two faces, especially at the little girl next to a slightly younger boy, for a long time before setting the picture back down on the cloth.

“Here comes the meatloaf!”

Distracted, Baekhyun’s orbs obviously lit up as he turns around and sees Mrs Kwon setting the piping hot tray on the table. The beautiful glaze on top of the golden brown crust marvels him and he gapes in sheer delight, tucking in with the contented Mrs Kwon.

“Oh dear, what happen to your nose? It looks bruised.” Mrs Kwon  and furrows her brow in surprise.

Baekhyun slips out a puff of air and sniggers, “Let’s just say, I lost to a formidable opponent.”

* *

After visiting Mrs Kwon, Baekhyun drives over to another city at the opposite end and his muscles remain rigid throughout the journey there. He isn’t really sure if it is a good idea to be doing this but In Hya’s words from yesterday keep invoking the rawest spot in his gut. There are still freshly drilled in his mind.

His eyes waver around the windshield and then Baekhyun realizes how sweaty his palms are against the steering wheel. That shows how nervous he feels at the moment.

Baekhyun hides behind a wall as he observes the house from a few miles away. He rubs his fingers together and feels like all the air in his throat vanishes when he sees his mother leaving the house to collect the letters from the mailbox.

Upon seeing her, her buries himself further behind the wall and it occurs to him that she is walking with a hunched break. There are times when she stops for a while and pats her aching back. The walk is short but it is excruciating for her to be moving around with that hunched back.

Everytime she does time, Baekhyun takes a step forward only to hide again. He is still too ashamed to face her.

Damn, will you just man up already?!

Mrs Byun then perks up and looks around the vicinity when she senses that someone is watching her and this causes Baekhyun to quickly conceal himself from view. He leans against the wall and closes his eyes while swallowing the bile that has risen up his cavity.

Baekhyun peeks out again, just in time to see her closing the door. His lips part in battered breaths and he spends some time casting a longing gaze towards it, just like he has always been doing.

* *

“I’m so glad you fine-tuned your recipe, look, they are a hit! We even got more younger customers strolling in thanks to you.”

Mdm Bae motivates her worker as she sells the last set of avocado smoothies in the fridge.

“It would not have made it if you didn’t give my smoothies a chance on the menu.” Wonwoo chortles.

Mdm Bae nods in agreement, “I only gave permission, but the credits are entirely yours. Speaking of which, do you want to take a leave for next week?”

Wonwoo feels a rippling wave in him and he barely manages to ask, “Hmm, why?”

“I’m thinking of finally visiting my daughter again. Maybe you could go on a vacation with your family too.”

Wonwoo feels something twist in his system and his heads, “Visiting your daughter?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while already, I think it’s about time I ask for her forgiveness and act as a real mother.”

His eyes glint crookedly as he watches her keep the leftover fruits in a discarded box, “What made you come to this decision?”

Mdm Bae shrugs gingerly, “There’s no point in delaying, right? While I was separated from her, I realized how much I was lacking as a parent.” She sniffles a bit, “In Hya has always been a righteous girl who always offer kindness to others. I took her for granted. I should’ve been proud of her when she decided to testify in court, shouldn’t I, Won? It was her best deed. I guess it all went downhill from there.”

Of course after spending quite some time with her new worker, Mdm Bae feels that it is fine to let loose and share some personal stories with him to forge a closer work relationship. She tells Wonwoo practically everything, including their infamous encounter that the Bae’s family faced 8 years ago.

Wonwoo raises his brows when she turns away and narrows his eyes with controlled atrocity.

I wonder how long more you can be proud of her..

* *

“I can’t believe you asked me out just so you can go on a date with Jongin.”

In Hya hums chirpily as she bobs her head to the music playing in the carnival. The lights mainly from the ferris wheel and carousel are illuminating the entire place.

“Oh come on, don’t be a party pooper. That’s not my intention. I asked you two up so that you both can cheer up—”

Baekhyun bellows in befuddlement, “—Cheer up?”

Before In Hya can find an answer for her accidental blurt, Jongin comes jogging towards them and she is pleasantly thankful for indirectly coming to his aid.

“Hey!” She beckons out loud and straightens her dress.

“So, what’s with the get-together session?” Jongin probes sincerely with a beam.

In Hya jabs her thumb towards the huge dazzling sign above the booth, making the two men glance, “Today’s offer, tickets at half-price!”

Baekhyun clucks his tongue, “Seriously.. what are you? 12?”

They are old enough and Baekhyun feels embarrassed about going.

“22, to be exact.” She states flatly and gallops into the carnival.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!” Jongin adds on.

Baekhyun resigns to his fate when he realizes he is outnumbered again. With a little bit of push from Jongin (as usual), Baekhyun drags his reluctant feet into the kiddy-like place that they are about to explore for the night.

“Where should we go first?” In Hya engages as she picks up the theme park’s colourful brochures and scans the landscape layout. Jongin does the same. Baekhyun merely becomes a s