TIP #24: “Á vaillant coeur, rien d’impossible”
For a valiant heart, nothing is impossible

“In Hya?”

“Hmm?” The said girl looks up from her purse to Mrs Min upon arriving the staff room, “Oh good morning.”

“Good morning.” The other teacher returns her greeting, “Someone left you a flower again this morning.”

In Hya feels her skin crawl as she sets her eyes on the same white flower, as pale as ever, placed neatly on her almost-clean desk. Angrily, she storms towards the table and takes the stalk in her hand before rushing out to the hallway, oblivious to Mrs Min calling out to her.

To her disappointment and mostly frustration, the frontyard looks empty like a soul has not crossed here for a decade. Crushing the thorny stem within her grasp, she scrutinizes left and right for just any signs but they are none.

“I don’t want this anymore!”

Not a footprint to be seen (much to her relief as well).

How long is Wonwoo going to torment her like this? And come to think of it, how did he bypass the security so easily? Looks like the safety of this nursery school has to be heightened up. Immediately.

She makes sure the flower is ripped off completely to the point where its almost unrecognizable before dumping it into the thrash bin — where it rightfully belongs.

A chilling sensation runs down her spine and if In Hya isn’t so scared at the moment, she would’ve noticed it didn’t came from the passing breeze.

The fading treetops bristle violently that morning, accompanying the howling wind. Everything becomes a thousand times creepier.

She purses her lips, letting go the last remaining petal. Her hands are feverently quivering and so is her hushed voice, “I’m.. tired of all this. Just.. leave me alone..”

* *
 

“I’m really surprised that you came here to meet me, son. I would’ve gladly visit your house again though.”

“No thanks, I wouldn’t want to impose on such a busy man.” Baekhyun comments sarcastically but no, it would be dire if his father knows that In Hya is living there. She already has enough on her plate and wouldn’t want to destroy the last bit of tranquility left.

Mr Byun whispers something to his secretary and he nods, before leaving the father and son alone.

Baekhyun can merely roll his eyes inwardly when he hear the door knob click. He didn’t like where this was going if it even had a direction because whenever his father wants to meet him, it will never end up pretty. 

“Since we’re both busy..” Mr Byun faces his son directly with a quirk brow, “I’ll cut to the chase.”

He slides a gold card with fine carvings, made of exclusive scented paper across the furniture. Baekhyun doesn’t take it, but his eyes remained fixated on the cursive writing imprinted on the cover.

“I’m getting married this Saturday.”

“And you’re telling me because?” Baekhyun asks dubiously.

“I want you to come to the wedding. I will introduce you as the next heir.”

“I’m not interested in your politics. And I’m absolutely not interesting in meeting your new wife.” Baekhyun is on the verge of throwing a full blast tantrum but he holds himself back.

“But your mother will be coming too.” Mr Byun says dauntingly with a calm composure.

“Spare her the agony, will you?” He immediately shoots back, recalling the conversation he had with his mother recently and stands up. All this while, Baekhyun had failed to protect her like what a dutiful child should be doing. How hard were the times she was coping without his support? Now that he’s learnt the truth, he wasn’t going to take any of this lying down, even if it meant defending in her absence.

A dumbfounded smile works up the elder’s lips, “That girl,” and it makes Baekhyun stop right in his tracks but he still doesn’t turn to look back, “what’s her name?”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s just like what I said,” Mr Byun stands up and heads forward to get closer to his son, “the girl you’ve been really closely acquainted with.. I would be pleased if you introduce her sometime.”

“She’s just a friend.” Baekhyun says incredulously.

Mr Byun nods in approval, “Which makes it even more interesting, son..”

What is the ominous feeling that is twisting in his gut? Baekhyun feels all too weird with his father’s sudden interest in his social circle because it all just seems too.. skeptical.

Like a really, really bad omen coming.

And Baekhyun doesn’t want anyone dear to him to get hurt anymore so he chooses not to believe his foreboding.

“Don’t concern yourself with my affairs.”

The grin on his father’s face is soon overtaken with a forlorn dark expression and it makes Baekhyun grimace, “Stay away from her.”

Though bewildered by this sudden change of behavior, Baekhyun manages to retaliate, “Now I understand how much Mum had suffered while she was with you. You demand others to do your ridiculous bidding blindly but I’m not going to be one of them, ever. Let your new wife be your guest.” He says venomously, not stuttering once and uncurls his tight fist. Baekhyun hadn’t even realized that he had his hand balled all this while.

Mr Byun watches his stubborn son leave the office just as Secretary Kim heads back in to report his duty.

“Conduct a background check..” He unlocks a safe to retrieve a photograph, “And I want you to keep an eye on Bae In Hya.”

* *

“I thought you only lived on takeaways.”

Still having his hand on the spatula, mixing the fried rice in the pan, he looks up to the sleepy voice of his new roommate, “This isn’t for me. But I did cook your share for breakfast.”

“Wow, you do cook actual food. But the real question is, will it be edible for human consumption?” In Hya rubs her swollen eyelids as they slowly adjust to the brightness.

“You will be awed.” Baekhyun snorts a little arrogantly as he scrapes the piping rice into a large container.

“Well, who are they for them?” In Hya quips from behind his build as she glances at the three containers, presumably one is hers.

“Err..” Baekhyun tries to find the right words because he doesn’t know what to say and because she is standing way too close to him that he can feel her hot breath, “For a f-friend?”

“Why do you sound so unsure about your own friend?” In Hya laughs as she helps turn off the stove. He’s quite a neat cook.

“Ok fine.” Baekhyun mumbles in defeat, “This is for my Mum.”

He can almost see her eyes smiling eventhough her lips fall apart like she’s delighted with the news and cheering him on.

“..And this is for a lady I met before.”

“Another lady?!” In Hya squints her eyes as she exclaims a little too loud for the morning hours.

“Wha— no. She’s old enough to be my mother.” Baekhyun intercepts in disbelief as he lets the rice cool down. In Hya is still trailing him for behind, waiting for his explanation and he fiddles with the lids in guilt, “Err.. It’s a long story actually.”

“I have time.” She insists encouragingly.

Baekhyun clucks his tongue at her persistence, “I almost knocked her down by.. ACCIDENT.” He quickly clarifies when he sees that In Hya is about to lash at him, “It was an accident!”

“Byun Baekhyun!” In Hya exhales and puts her two hands at the side of her waist, shaking her head in disapproval, “When are you going to curb your bad habit of knocking others with your car!”

“You make it sound like I do it on a daily basis.” He seethes through clenched teeth.

“For the record, may I remind you how we met?” She muses cunningly while punching him in the arm.

“Oh for crying out loud, let it go already! I’m atoning for my mistakes.. I’m taking care of her whenever I can.” Baekhyun hisses while clutching his arm in pain. Damn, this girl is not just feisty but also bears grudges for a really long time.

A long pause ensues before In Hya speaks out, “That’s really sweet of you, Baekhyun.”

Breakfast is brief and quick and the entire time, mainly because both of them are rushing for work. Perhaps too because these past few days Baekhyun’s been feeling jittery and cautious around the clueless girl after that accidental (or was it?) kiss and he detests this because this feeling is so not cool!

Baekhyun keeps staring at her face in silence, also awed at how her silky brown locks remains neat without bed hair, as she works her fork in the abundance of fried rice before clearing his throat, “Do you think you can make yourself free on Saturday?”

“Are we going on another one of your wild adventures where I totally don’t have a say in it?” In Hya states flatly, twirling her silver spoon.

Baekhyun purses his lips out, “That would be nice if it was the case but..”

“But what?” In Hya asks suspiciously.

It takes a while for Baekhyun to break out of his own reverie. He stands up and reluctantly fetches the card next to a flower vase on the window ledge.

“A wedding invite?” In Hya questions as she takes the card from Baekhyun, admiring its premium thickness. This is some high quality printing!

“It’s my father’s. And his new bride.”

For a moment, there’s some sympathy painted on her face before her usual expression returns, “Are you inviting me to a wedding?”

Baekhyun massages the back of his neck sheepishly, “If you want to follow..”

“As a date?”

“As a partner.” He wastes no time to correct.

“It’s the same right? A date is for two people.” In Hya teases in a singsong voice.

Baekhyun’s face starts to flare up, “Whatever.”

“Oh ho, cocky.” In Hya then directs her gaze back to the card to scan its fine contents, “So.. will your.. mother be coming too?”

“Yeah.”

She nods understandingly and gives out a warm smile, “Then, I’ll go.”

Baekhyun blinks in surprise, “You will? Are you serious?”

“This must be important to you, right?” She flags the card in her hand, “Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be dissed for being date-less.”

Baekhyun looks at her thoughtful face as he feels a small grin escaping, “Yeah, I don’t think I would want that.”

* *

If neighbours see this, they would definitely think that Baekhyun is another son because he’s been visiting regularly.

“I’m my own boss, so it’s fine for me to take breaks anytime.” Baekhyun says with a reassuring smile, making Mrs Kwon laugh.

She places the container with homecooked food on top of the dining countertop before handing him a glass of ice lemon tea.

“Is it really fine?” Mrs Kwon jokes as she waits for Baekhyun to finish the last sip of drink and lets out a second laugh when he nods.

Her eyes then travel to a bag next to his arm, “What do you have in there?”

Baekhyun’s smile falte