She hadn't thought that her life would be flipped over in a matter of few months, being married to the only eligible bachelor in town and faking the whole nine yards. Even residing in the Oh Mansion for the last couple of months, she wasn't used to the jump scares she received on a daily basis. Her body trembled every time someone would sneak up from behind, or when she was summoned to the grandmother's bedroom. Mrs. Oh made it a point to interrogate her every Sunday after breakfast, going on about the family history, their ancestors and quizzing her with no stop as to what Sehun liked or disliked. She would always remain on the edge till she was out of the stuffy room.

It was one such morning, Sehun being away at one of his many factory visits. Rae Hun was near devastated, having met neither her parents nor Sebyul for the longest period of time. But she nursed the hope, since she wouldn't have to carry on with the facade for long. The six months period was soon going to be over and she would be back with her child, and hopefully know the name of the father. She wasn’t exactly stoked about knowing the man’s identity, who decided to leave her and the baby and made it clearly visible that he had no intentions to contact either of them in the future.

But Luhan was rather positive, having scouring through innumerable databases to find the match. He had narrowed down the possible DNA profiles that resulted in a close match and his brows had furrowed in confusion when the lab results were forwarded into his account. “Can you meet me today?” he had called her right after breakfast, causing her to leave immediately. She had picked up the tone of urgency and didn’t ask for further information or the reason behind that abrupt meeting.

She arrived deranged to the agreed place, a wayside café where Luhan waited for her with a heavy file. She exhaled, in relief and collapsed to the seat before him. “This better be important,” she murmured, flagging down the waiter to serve them coffee. “Oh it is,” Luhan replied nonchalant, tenting his fingers after forwarding the file in her direction. Rae Hun looked at the slender man quizzically, before pulling the file open. It was sealed with wax, with careful lettering in Chinese that she couldn’t make out. “What the…” her words drowned as she made out the face that was all too familiar for her.

Meanwhile, Areum was on her way to her grandmother-in-law’s bedroom, having being called in at the same time as Rae Hun. However, she didn’t let go of the opportunity to tell on her younger sister-in-law. “She left in a hurry, even when I told her it was you that needed her as an audience.” The family head only nodded in understanding, dismissing the ladies for the morning. Areum had left with a smug smile on her face, quite pleased with herself.

“You can’t tell Sehun or anyone for that matter.” Luhan was disarmed by the sudden grasp over his arm. “Promise me.” Rae Hun pleaded with him, as if her life depended on it all. “Not a soul. Not even the man himself.” She closed the file shut in a hurried manner and began stuffing it to her handbag in a futile attempt. “Clear the records and pay off the lab testers…do anything to remove all trace.”

“What about the boss? What if he gets a whiff of it?” Luhan raised an eyebrow, still undecided whether he should listen to the woman who sat before him wearing a maniacal expression or let his employer know. Sehun was bound to ask one of those days since the annulment of their contract was nearing. “I will handle Sehun, some way or other,” she stirred on her cup, splashing some of the warm liquid onto the saucer below. “Make sure no one knows. Please.” Luhan looked away, rubbing at his temples. The woman could be convincing when she wanted. “Okay fine. I will make up some excuse about dead ends. You could have saved me a whole lot of this trouble I took-“

“I didn’t know either that things would turn out this way.” Her eyes briefly crossed over the damned folder on her lap. “Now that I do, I get to decide what’s best for my daughter.” She was torn, between her duty as a mother and a wife, and hoped hard that Sehun would understand it was for the best.   

Kris was patrolling around the factory, checking up on the security detail when Sehun called. “It isn’t even noon.” He said to no one in particular and was pleasantly surprised when the boss wanted to be driven back home. Sehun was in a rather bright mood, happy with latest designs and that most of the production went through QC without much waste. He picked up a nice bouquet of fall flowers and hummed a tune as the car stopped before the mansion gates.
“You can leave, Kris,” he slapped the taller man’s back in appreciation. “I will let you know if an emergency arises today.”

Kris wasn’t wholly convinced but dropped his careful gaze as Sehun disappeared into the safety of the mansion. Sehun felt the presence of a second person as he entered his own room. He brushed off the ominous feeling, tugging at his tie. “Where is this girl?” he wondered, walking into the attached en suite. The flowers lay on their shared bed as he changed into comfortable clothes. “Is that you Rae Hun?” he asked into the air, walking back in only to find the flowers strewn across the bed sheets, the wrapping paper crumpled onto the floor. “This is a sick joke.” He was dead serious, as he examined a rutted stalk with the leaves barely hanging onto it.

Just then, Rae Hun entered through the back of the mansion, burning the files. She wiped at her forehead, patting away at the sweat when Kyungsoo discovered her. “Planning another surprise?” the man asked warmly and received a hesitant nod in return before she fled the scene. “What is up with her?” he speculated, going back on his track.

“Did you do this?” Sehun barked up from behind, causing Rae Hun to strive harder to hide the soot covered dress into the closet she was wearing from before. “What are you talking about?" she used her most convincing “I don’t know anything” tone. She retrieved a new dress, locking the cupboard behind her back. Sehun’s eyes narrowed in scrutiny before he relaxed his facial muscles. “Someone decided to ruin the bouquet I brought for you, utterly wrecked.” He brought up the singular mums flower stalk that he could salvage. “I managed to save this.”

Her shoulders slumped and she took the flower from him. A smile lit her face up, and he returned the carefree gesture. “We didn’t need the whole bunch after all,” He her cheek, admiring the beautiful beam while it lasted. “I do-“she wanted to retort something witty, not wanting to feed his inflated ego further. He was full of himself already. Besides the morning discovery, her mind was unsettled. Who could possibly enter their room in broad day light?