The time continued to tick and days continued to pass, and gratefully, things remained the same for Taeyeon. No one has intruded in her life—except maybe the persistent and unstoppable paparazzi who continuously lurked into their lives—and no one has sent her any kind of presents, letters, flowers, or anything color yellow.

          At least not yet.

          But despite of the rather peace she and her life is having, Taeyeon wouldn’t exactly say that she herself is in an utter peace. If ever, she felt the opposite. The peace is making her uneasy and she couldn’t help but feel like worse things would eventually arrive sooner or later. Her mind was restless; and though she wanted to rest her mind and herself from all of the exhausting thinking, she couldn’t.

          The constant worrying had been taking its toll on her and was not letting her focus on anything that she should be focusing—her pending works, her business. She had been ditching her work and so as her supposed visit at the boutique since then and had been staying at home, doing minimal works from time to time before she would fall back into deep thinking inside her study. She knew Luna and her staff had probably wondering what’s up with her lately and the ditching of work drama, but she was thankful that Luna wasn’t bugging her or asking her anything about it and instead, was silently attending to her job for her.

          And today is just like one of those days. She had just woken up from a long sleep and ironically, she still felt tired. It was still early in the morning since she went to bed early the night before. The sun had finally risen, the surroundings and their room is quiet, only the faint breathing of the man sleeping beside her could be heard inside.

          Turning her head towards the man, Taeyeon stared at him as her mind continued to wander around. She was aware of Baekhyun’s burning curiosity and his confusion; she didn’t need to ask him, for she could see and feel it from him without incorporating any words or questions. Though she knew that he was indeed curious, she was grateful that throughout those days, Baekhyun never once asked her about the matter, and instead, just stayed by her side and took care of her in all forms and ways that he could. She was honestly started questioning how in the world did she ever met a guy like him and if she ever deserved having him in her mess of a life.

          Averting her eyes away from him, Taeyeon pulled herself up from the bed and slowly made her way downstairs. As she climbed down the stairs, she could hear faint noises and guessed that it was probably Mrs. Lee and the others moving around the kitchen.

          Following the noises, she walked her way towards the kitchen and confirmed her guess as she saw Mrs. Lee, happily going around the kitchen as if she was dancing and have the routine memorized perfectly.

          “Oh, you’re up early Miss. Good morning!” The lady greeted when she noticed her standing near the counter.

          How I wish I am as happy and delighted as her, especially in the morning.

          “Please, just Taeyeon; and good morning to you too, Mrs. Lee.” Taeyeon politely greeted back, flashing the lady a smile before walking towards the counter. “Why are you up so early, though?” She asked, looking at the clock provided in the kitchen as she leaned her elbows on the counter.

          “I just figured out you guys will be waking up early to start the day since it’s already Monday.” Mrs. Lee answered without removing the bright look on her face. Though Taeyeon wasn’t really feeling that well inside and outside, considering as well that it was too early in the morning and she really hadn’t gotten any good sleep for days already, she couldn’t help but to be attracted to the brightness the old lady was showing and giving her.

          Taeyeon furrowed her brows down, getting a little confused with what the lady was trying to tell her. “What’s with Monday?” She curiously asked minutes after.

          Mrs. Lee looked a little surprised when Taeyeon asked the question, but quickly brushed it off after. “Sir Baekhyun will be starting on his job today, if I am not mistaken basing from what he mentioned.”

          Taeyeon remained silent on her place, blinking her eyes a few times faster than it should be.

          What?

          She hurriedly searched for the small calendar in the kitchen and checked the date. “That is today?”

          Mrs. Lee hummed in response while keeping her smile on her face. “Do you have any request for breakfast before you too go to work miss?”

          Taeyeon looked at the lady and lightly shook her head. “No, thank you.” She withdrew herself away from the counter as she left Mrs. Lee on her business in the kitchen and went to take a seat on the dining area.

          Though she knew herself that there was nothing to be sorry about forgetting about that matter, Taeyeon couldn’t help but to feel a little bad that that important matter slipped off her mind. She had been filling up her mind and had herself drown into overthinking and her worries that she lost track of her surroundings.

          Forgetting about this matter was only one thing, and besides from this, she had been avoiding getting contact and in touch with other people except from Baekhyun and Luna occasionally, and in addition, she has left her responsibilities unattended. It was only now that she realized how much had she let that single matter affect her in a short span of time.

          Gosh, get yourself together Taeyeon. This isn’t you.

          She knew her mind and heart would still be far away from being at ease until she gets a word from her brother, but she also realized that her world wouldn’t stop by there. As she waited—anxiously for her brother, maybe she could get herself to do what she has and needs to do.

          Come on Taeyeon, you need distraction. And your work had always been your best and most effective one. Think better.

          Standing up from her seat, Taeyeon went back to the kitchen, where Mrs. Lee is working. “Uh, Mrs. Lee?” She called out and the old lady turned to her after. “Do you perhaps know what time does Baekhyun needs to leave for work?”

          Mrs. Lee stood quietly on her place and scrunched her brows as if she was deeply thinking, before she brought herself to answer. “He did mention that his work starts at ten. By that case, he could leave an hour and a half before ten I guess.”

          Taeyeon looked over at the clock and saw that it is still quite early. She then turned back to the old lady and spoke. “Let me help you in preparing.” She quickly walked over behind the counter and mingled with Mrs. Lee in the kitchen. She wasn’t exactly sure where the sudden urge of preparing a meal came from—the quick thinking she had on the dining area must have been the reason—but she wanted to start this new day of her right for herself and for others. If she couldn’t, at least she wanted to try. Sulking inside of the house because of a single matter wouldn’t help her in any way.  I should have known that.

          She helped the old lady in preparing their breakfast which are pancakes, toasts, and eggs, the ideal and normal meal for morning. Once they finished what was needed to be done for the breakfast, she quickly sent off Mrs. Lee and told her to go have her breakfast as well and rest for a while, which the lady soon obeyed after a few attempts of getting away with it.

          Once she was left alone, she started moving around the kitchen once more. But before she could continue on taking out the things that she needed, she halted on her tracks and froze.

          Should I still do this or….

          The idea randomly came into her mind while she was helping Mrs. Lee earlier; she thought of preparing a simple lunch for Baekhyun for him to bring at work, but now she found the idea silly and was contemplating whether to still do it or just forget it.

          But she had half of what she needed out on the counter already.

          God dammit.

          Heaving a sigh, she forcefully pushed her thoughts away and continued on what she was supposed to do in the beginning. Well I could just eat this later for lunch if I wouldn’t have the guts to give this to him, easy as pie.

          She then busied herself after and quickly prepared the meal. She isn’t much of a cook and she could barely get her in the kitchen for the most part of her life, but at least she could say that she isn’t that illiterate when it comes to preparing meals. From what she got in their kitchen, she decided to simply make a chicken sandwich with pesto, a little bit of cheese and a some chopped vegetables. She used to make it back when she was in college and the girls always loved it whenever she made them some back when they were all still together, and now she internally hoped that he would also like it. If I ever get myself to give this to him later.

          As she was about to place the sandwich on the bag, Mrs. Lee softly called her name which right away caught her attention. “Yes?”

          “It’s past seven-thirty already, do you think it’s time for Sir Byun get ready?” The old lady politely asked.

          Taeyeon turned to the clock and confirmed the time as what Mrs. Lee has said. Though waking Baekhyun up for the morning didn’t ever get into her mind for she thought he would get up by himself given the fact that it’s his first day at work, she thought it was what the old lady was indirectly telling her to do.

          So after, she slightly nodded her head and answered. “I’ll check on him.” She left the sandwich on the plate and the lunchbox on the counter and washed her hands quickly on the sink before leaving the kitchen and climbing up the stairs to their room. Reaching the door, she slowly turned the knob and softly opened the door. A faint noise of some kind of alarm surrounded the room and instantly welcomed her, but aside from that, the room was relatively quiet and Baekhyun was still sleeping deeply on the bed just like how she left him earlier.

          Slowly closing the door behind her, she then walked towards the bed and right away confirmed her guess that it was indeed Baekhyun’s phone alarm that was ringing off. She reached for it and swiped the screen to stop the alarm before reaching for his arm to tap it softly to wake him up. “Baek wake up, it’s almost eight already.” She muttered and tapped on his shoulder repeatedly.

          After a few calls and taps, Baekhyun stirred on his position and slowly opened his eyes, and right away squinted it, probably because of the sudden brightness that welcomed him, before turning to Taeyeon. “Hey,” he called with his husky voice. “Good morning.”

          Taeyeon chuckled at him. “It’s almost eight, I think you should get ready for work now.”

          Baekhyun turned towards the clock on the nightstand as he slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position. “Didn’t I turn on my alarm?” He asked as he reached for his phone.

          “You did. It was ringing when I entered so I turned it off and woke you up instead.” Taeyeon answered.

          “Oh,” Baekhyun looked up to her and formed a small smile on his lips. “Thank you. I knew I would likely miss my alarm because I slept late last night.”

          Taeyeon furrowed her brows at him. “Late?” She was obviously not aware of it for she went to bed earlier than her usual time of sleeping.

          He nodded. “Can’t sleep.”

          “Why?”

          Baekhyun stood up from the bed. “Because I was thinking of you.” He softly patted the crown of her head before making his way towards the closet to prepare his clothes for work.

          On the other hand, Taeyeon was left still on her stance. She wasn’t sure if she should acknowledge the slight skip her heart did, surely because of that or acknowledge the matter that Baekhyun obviously noticed how she was totally out of herself the past days. She crunched her brows slightly together and sat on the bed after.

          Before she could even get lost into her starting train of thoughts, she felt the bed shrinking down and saw Baekhyun sitting on her side already, looking at her with an expression that she couldn’t read. She just stared at his comforting eyes for a while before bringing her gaze towards the floor.

          “Is everything alright?” He softly asked.

          Taeyeon remained silent for a moment as she searched for the right words to answer.

          “I’m sorry.” She muttered instead, and bravely brought her gaze up to meet his.

          Baekhyun wasn’t exactly sure what she was apologizing for when she absolutely did nothing wrong. But instead of asking it out loud, he remained silent on his seat and patiently waited for her to speak. If there’s one thing that he greatly learned about Taeyeon throughout the time that they’ve known each other, is that to always let her have her time and space. And that is exactly what he was doing all along, even if he had been dying to ask her things.

          “I…” Taeyeon started after turning away from him again. “I... haven’t been… in the right condition lately and…” she trailed off as she continued to search for the right words to utter. “And I just…” she sighed. “I just… want to say sorry.” She muttered everything under her breath, looking down at her hands on her lap. She knew that she didn’t pick the right words to express what she really wanted to say but she hoped that he would still get it even through her fail attempts of explaining.

          There was about a minute of silence around them before Baekhyun brought himself to speak. “I’ve been worried about you.” He muttered, keeping his eyes on her.

          Taeyeon slowly nodded her head. “I know, and that’s why I’m sorry.” She muttered as she busied her hands by touching and caressing her wedding band on her finger.

          “Why are you sorry?” Baekhyun inquired with a low voice.

          “I don’t want to add up to your worries.”

          Though he thought it might be rude to think, Baekhyun couldn’t help but to find her adorable with how she slightly pouted her lips and how she played with her rings on her finger. But he quickly dismissed this thought and focused on what were they discussing.

          “Taeyeon, I will worry about you whenever I want to.”

          “And that’s exactly what I am avoiding.” She answered, turning her head at him.

          Baekhyun slightly furrowed his brows. “Why?” He asked.

          Taeyeon stared back at him for a moment before turning away once again. “I just… don’t want to trouble you anymore.” She wasn’t sure if her answer was enough for him. She still couldn’t tell him anything and would probably keep things from him for a while, but she hoped that these little explanations would be enough for him even for some time. Until I finally get answers and figure everything out.

          “I don’t know where you got that idea from, but you have never troubled me in any way.” Those words were enough for Taeyeon to snap her head back to him again. To say that it caught her off guard was quite an understatement. It caught her way too off guard that she couldn’t even search for a way to respond to it.

          And instead of responding, she simply took her gaze away once again and brought it back towards the floor as she again played with her wedding band on her finger. It was not long after that when silence finally enveloped around once more, and Taeyeon made no attempts of breaking it in any way. She wasn’t really sure how to respond to that and neither does she want to speak as well.

          As the silence continued to linger, Baekhyun stood up from where he was seating and lowered himself in front of Taeyeon so he could see her face clearly. A hint of surprise emitted out of Taeyeon’s eyes as she gazed up to him but he ignored it and spoke. “You don’t need to be sorry, okay? It’s not your fault that I have been worrying about you, it’s not your fault that I’ve been noticing things in you. None of that is your fault and I don’t want you to think of it that way either.”

          There was a moment of silence that came after as Taeyeon tried to search for better words to respond.

          “I just want to leave you out from everything that is… bothering me and such.” She muttered lowly that Baekhyun almost didn’t catch it.

          “Well that’s kind of impossible. I’m your husband.” They’ve been married for quite some time now and she knew she shouldn’t be surprised anymore whenever they address each other in that way; but every time they do, it always felt strange and new to her. Their whole set up and marriage still felt a little unusual and different for her up to the moment.

          “Taeyeon, I won’t just sit around here and do nothing for you. I’ve promised you before that I will take care of you, and I will live up to that promise that I made.”

          “It’s just that…”

          “You don’t want me to worry about you.” He paused and squinted his eyes at her. “You know that’s a silly way of thinking.” Taeyeon tried to suppress the small smile that was threatening to form on her lips as she thought that it was not really appropriate to smile at their current situation. But still, she ended up showing off the smile which eventually made Baekhyun laugh in adoration.

          “Well, I guess I’m silly.” She muttered.

          He chuckled and reached out to slightly pinch her nose after. “Yeah, kind of.”

          Taeyeon groaned at the pinch and furrowed her brows as she looked at him pissed, which Baekhyun only responded with a laugh.

          “Now,” Baekhyun started as he reached over at where he was seated earlier in the bed beside Taeyeon. “Help me choose my tie for today?” He asked, showing off two ties with different colors to Taeyeon with a smile plastered on his face.

          Taeyeon raised her brows as she stared at the ties in both of his hands in front of her. She totally didn’t notice that he came to seat beside her with the ties, hence her puzzled and startled look. But shortly after, she scanned the ties in front of her—one in color brown and the other in color blue.

          “Pair this one with a light blue shirt if you have so you wouldn’t look too earthy on your first day.” She answered as she pointed out on the blue tie.

          A big smile right away formed in Baekhyun’s lips after, nodding his head slowly at her at the same time. “As expected from the fashion designer herself. I made the right decision of asking you.” Baekhyun uttered as he slowly got up from his position.

          Taeyeon just shook her head at him and laughed after. “It’s eight already. You don’t want to be late on your first day or you might lose the job in a snap.”

          Baekhyun laughed at her statement, cupping one of her cheeks and grazing his thumb slightly on her skin. “Alright, I’ll get ready now.” He uttered before turning away and walked back to their closet.

          “Head down right away after. Mrs. Lee woke up early to prepare some breakfast.” She managed to add as Baekhyun disappeared from her sight.

          “Tell her I say thank you!” He yelled from inside.

          Taeyeon chuckled as she stood up from the bed. “Go tell her that yourself when you get down later!” She yelled back before walking towards the door and she heard Baekhyun letting out a laugh before closing the door behind her and heading downstairs.

          Reaching downstairs, she went to attend to Ginger first who welcomed her as soon as she landed her feet on the floor from the stairs and prepared his food for the morning. After which, she went back to the kitchen and found everything that she left as it is and untouched. She right away placed the sandwich in a reusable bag, leaving it on the counter after as she went to brew the coffee and cleaned her mess that she made on the kitchen. After which, she took out a mug and poured the newly brewed coffee for herself, adding about a spoon of sugar and a little bit (too much) of the milk after. Mixing it all together, she took a sip of it and emitted a satisfied reaction with how her drink tasted—sweet and creamy as how she likes it.

          Turning around, she walked away from the kitchen counter and towards the table, and at the same time, Baekhyun entered the scene in his working clothes, with his bag and coat on his other hand. “Whoa, you were fast.” She commented as she placed her mug down on the table while Baekhyun placed his things on the vacant seat.

          He smiled at her comment as he prepared to take his seat. “Did you have your breakfast already?”

          She shook her head. “I haven’t.”

          He slightly furrowed his brows at her answer. “What were you doing since you went down?” He curiously asked as he took his seat.

          “Well, I fed Ginger since he was all over my feet when I came down and he kept on barking and making noises and I cleaned up in the kitchen a little bit.” She answered.

          “Come join me then.” He uttered, motioning Taeyeon to take her seat as we