8K words.

When they all thought things going just splendidly, suddenly everything turned upside down after just one single night.

From Soojin’s father falling into a coma after suffering a heart attack, to Hisako having the hardest time of her life adjusting to her new work culture. Yanmei is starting to see less and less of Jongdae because his father is suddenly wanting to throw the responsibility of their company to him since she was introduced to the family. She knew this would happen, but Jongdae assured her that everything will be okay.

But it was never okay since then.

Yanmei is not okay.

Hisako is not okay.

And Soojin… Soojin is definitely not okay. Not with her father still in a coma after three weeks.

Soojin was forced to play the CEO role prematurely. It’s not like she doesn’t have any support from anyone. Her mother was there to help, Mia was there at her side all the time and sometimes Baekhyun was there. But Baekhyun also runs a company and even though he promised he will be with her, he has to break his words.

Soojin understands and she feels bad that Baekhyun feels obligated to make her feel better. He doesn’t have to. Although she has already fallen for him, she knows they are still only tied because of an agreement between their fathers.

With now Mr. Lee’s health hazard, the thought of breaking the said engagement makes her want to vomit. That Baekhyun will eventually realize this and he will finally be a free man again. Free to be the Byun Baekhyun that he was back then before they met.

But having those toxic thoughts in her head, she knows she will be distracted and needs to focus on what's most important right now. Their company. And so she does the only one thing she knows that will remove those ugly apprehensions in her mind, is to keep herself busy.

She also kept a tight schedule that works better for her, that kept everyone happy. Or so she thinks.

Soojin stays with her father in the hospital since he was admitted. She wakes up six in the morning sharp, to let doctors and nurses in for their daily routine checkup. By six-thirty, the doctors are done and her mother and Mia arrive for their daily breakfast with bland Hospital food. You’d think, the most expensive hospital (that was owned by the Byuns, by the way) in all of South Korea would offer good food, but no. The food was intended for the sick, even family members who stay with the patients has to suffer from that.

Sometimes her mother will bring a meal for them to share, but she’d tell her mother not to exert too much effort because she knows her mom is suffering more than she ever was. She never lets her stay in the hospital because she knows her mother will just end up staying awake all through the night, crying for her husband to wake up and be healthy again. And she doesn’t want her mother to fall into a depressed state that she experienced for the last ten years of her existence. Even though these are the same people who forced her into that life, she can’t let them suffer. They are still her parents, the people who brought her into the world. And probably without them, she won’t get to meet the important people around her… Including Baekhyun.

After their breakfast, by seven-thirty AM Yixing and Sunmi or sometimes when she’s not busy, Soojung, will come to keep their father company for the whole day. Their mother will be in the office for only a short time to let Soojin know what to do next and then she’s out the door running to the hospital to be with her husband again.

By eight in the evening (sometimes earlier than that if she’s lucky and doesn’t have meetings outside of the office), Soojin will let her mother stay for a while and send her home with Mia, Yixing, and Sunmi (occasionally Soojung) before the clock strikes nine pm.

Soojin will have silent emotional breakdowns when her self-administered schedule is broken. When her mother will have those 'Old People’s syndrome' where she gets stubborn and adamant that she will stay the night in the hospital. She would call Baekhyun to tell him to pick Soojin up to take her away. Baekhyun would adhere to his Mother-in-law, take Soojin home to his apartment and they would argue.

They would argue nonstop, that they will end up hurting each other with words. That Soojin would berate Baekhyun and he would be blamed if their mother faints again but it would never happen because, according to Baekhyun, ‘Mother is a strong woman, she dealt with a lot of in her life. Including the straying away of Seungmin Hyung.’

They would end up too exhausted after an argument that they would wake up the next day in each other’s arms. Soojin would serve Baekhyun breakfast as an apology and he won’t hesitate to give her a hug and a long and coveting kiss that would melt them together. They’d kiss and promise not to argue anymore, but it always happens anyway.

Days like that would give her hope that Baekhyun would stay beside her if, and only if, something happens to her father.

But days apart with Baekhyun would make the awful thinking back, so she makes herself as busy as ever to the point that one day she collapsed in the hospital elevator after a very long and stressful day at work.

She wakes up the next day in a private room adjacent to her father’s, with two different IVs connected to her wrist. The time on the clock in front of the bed where she was laying reads Ten-forty-five AM and she panicked. She panicked because she is already late for work.

Soojin tried standing up, which she regretted almost immediately because her head spun causing her to drop back down on her pillow.

“Soojinnie… Sooj, are you okay? What are you doing?”

Baekhyun immediately stood from beside her, where he was seated. Wide eyes puffy from lack of sleep and wild with surprise. He caressed her hair softly, making sure she’s not hurt in any way.

“Baekhyun? What are… Where are we? What is this? I’m late for work, Baekhyun.”

Soojin attempts to lift her left arm where the IVs were connected to her veins, but the paper-weight feeling of her body prevented her to do so. Baekhyun slowly trails his eyes where Soojin moved her arms, also shaking away the sleep from his head.

“It’s Saturday. We’re in a hospital suite next to your Dad, Sooj. You…” Baekhyun paused as he yawns. “You out in the elevator last night. The doctor said you were fatigued and malnourished, you have to stay here for another five days.”

Baekhyun explains. Soojin’s eyes grew the size of saucers when the number of days she has to stay registered in her mind.

“Baekhyun, I do not have five days to waste. There’s too much work and—”

Baekhyun silenced Soojin off with a kiss, and she was dumbfounded by his action. She tried opening to speak again but immediately closed it when her mind and heart filled with his soft lips and his love, nose suddenly filled with his scent and her stomach churned with ardor.

He takes her pale hand in both his and places it on the chest where his heart is, squeezing it ever so gently as to not hurt her in any way.

“It’s okay, Sooj. You can work from here. Mia will take care of everything, okay?”

Soojin didn’t even fuss or fight her fiancé off. She let him prop the hospital bed up so he can give her a glass of water she asked for. Baekhyun called the nurse’s station to let them know that the patient is finally awake and after an hour of the initial doctor’s visit where she was advised to stay and actually rest and not stress herself, they were finally alone again.

It was now or never, Baekhyun thought. Soon her family and her friends, their friends, will swarm to visit her. To comfort and spoil her rotten because they know she has been hustling hard even before her father had a heart attack.

He has to do it now and properly propose to her.

To tell her she’s the only woman he wants to spend his lifetime with. To love and to cherish for the rest of his life. To build a home and make a family with.

Baekhyun pats his jacket pocket to make sure the velvet box of the ring he personalized with words “A promise of love to my Soojin” engraved inside the ring just for her is still in there. He lets out a minuscule sigh when he felt the bulge of the small box still intact inside his pocket and then fondle Soojin’s hair and caresses it lovingly before speaking to her.

“Soojinnie… Are you awake?”

Baekhyun softly spoke as to not startle her if ever she was indeed asleep. Soojin softly hums, moves very slightly and slowly to face Baekhyun’s direction and her eyes gently fluttered open.

“I was trying to as what the doctor told me, but I’m not tired.”

Soojin frowns slightly but smiles immediately when their eyes met. The tired but pretty twinkle in her eyes made Baekhyun’s stomach churn with both love and nervousness. It’s now or never.

“I just… Before people come, I just want to…”

Baekhyun pauses, clears his throat and inhales deeply as he closes his eyes tight shut.

“Are you okay, Bubu? Is something bothering you?”

The pet name Soojin calls him that hasn’t been used for a very long time made his breathing hitch, immediately getting over it and exhales the deep breath he took.

“Nothing is bothering me… I just… I just w-wanna do something I wanted to do on my birthday, but got interrupted…”

Soojin doesn’t talk anymore, she waited for Baekhyun to just go for it, whatever he intended to do. She watched him slowly put his delicate hand inside his pocket and fiddled with something inside. She can tell Baekhyun is nervous as hell and she gingerly the skin on his other hand with her thumbs.

Baekhyun looks up at her face when he felt her move and the dark clouds that were hovering over his mind immediately clear up with the supportive and full of affection beam she has on her face. He clutches the small velvet box in his hand and pulls it off inside his pocket.

Soojin’s head slightly ticks to the other side as she cannot recognize what Baekhyun pulls out of his jacket’s pocket.

Baekhyun clears his throat again and pushes the stool he was sitting on the side of Soojin’s hospital bed and proceeded to get down on one knee.

“Soojinnie… I don’t know if it’s the right time right now and I know everything is not going according to what we wanted. And everything we have currently didn’t exactly started beautifully. Just a few months ago we were enemies. I know you hated my guts, but I only did the things I did and said the words I said before was to distract you…”

Baekhyun trails off, opening the velvet box, revealing the diamond-studded platinum ring with a simple, yet elegant 14-carat teardrop diamond in the middle. Soojin’s mouth hangs open as she sees the large jewelry twinkling in the sunshine coming in from the huge hospital window.

“I wanna let you know that I never wanted to hurt you in any way. And you deserve to be proposed to properly. And I… This is…”

Baekhyun stops again to let out a nervous laugh at his continuous blabbering. This is definitely not what he rehearsed, but he cannot stop his mouth once it started.

“This is not what I intended to say, Soojinnie. I… I-I… I’m nervous.”

Baekhyun sighs out, his shoulders drop along with his head, brows furrowed as he letup for a bit to make his crazy heart beating normalize.

“Baekhyun… Baekhyun, it’s okay. Take your time. I can wait forever if you wanted me to.”

Soojin smiled down at the man who she loves. Baekhyun finally raised his head as he protests to what she said.

“No! I won’t let that happen… I’m just… Okay…”

Soojin holds off the giggle stirring up inside of her. With how cute her fiancé is, she can’t help but swoon over him. She just nods her head up to let him know he can talk anytime now.

“Soojin… I know… I know I’m an and I don’t deserve a beautiful, caring and sweet Goddess like you. But will you accept my proposal? No arrangement forget about what our fathers talked about, let’s just marry for love.”

The moment Soojin heard the word ‘love’, her tears starting welling up making her vision blurry instantly.

“Yes, Baekhyun! I was… I was so worried that with my Father’s uncertain health, you’d leave me and—”

Baekhyun stood up and cut Soojin’s sentence with an embrace.

“I love you, why would I do that? Please don’t think like that.”

He coos into her ear as he let her cry her feelings out. When he felt her stopped sniffling, Baekhyun took the ring out of the box and slip the jewelry on the ring finger of Soojin’s left hand.

“I love you, Soojinnie. I can’t wait to marry you.”

“I love you too, bubu.”

— — —

“Oh, me.”

Hisako suddenly stops in her tracks as she spotted Director Kang just exiting his office. The older man immediately beams once he saw the young newcomer and Hisako regrets that she rushed to leave instead of making sure the coast was clear to make a dash out of the office to see Soojin again tonight.

“I can’t do that, Hisa. I do not have a !”

Soojin’s reply almost made Hisako laugh, it’s apparent that her friend is getting a little loose again. Obviously, she seems happier now that Baekhyun finally proposes to her for real, amidst all the fest happening in her life. Hisako can hear giggles in the background, feeling bad that she’s the only one missing out all the fun.

“Ugh, Director Kang saw me. , he’s on his way to me now.”

“Ah, Director Kang...”

Soojin paused to let out a laugh, mocking her friend, exactly know Director Kang’s personality.

“Good luck escaping from him.”

“Thanks, so supportive of you.”

Hisako spits sarcastically and bitterly.

“It’s fine Hisa, They’ll all leave in a few minutes anyway. You can visit again tomorrow.”

Soojin pacifies the obviously stressed out Hisako.

“But… But I miss you, we haven’t really seen much of each other since I started working even though technically we work in one building. But you’re on the top floor and I am six floors below you and I can’t—”

“Ms. Amano, I am so glad you’re still here.”

Hisako’s sentence was cut when Director Kang finally made his way to where she was awkwardly frozen while balancing her bags between her two hands.

“I’ll call you again later, Sooj!”

Hisako cuts the call abruptly and fakes a smile out before answering her old senior.

“Ah, yes I was on my way to—”

“Was that our acting CEO on the phone with you, you really are close to her aren’t you?”

Hisako tried all her might not to roll her eyes as the Director cuts her sentence yet again. But her work environment is different now. In South Korea, they follow a strict hierarchy order and you will be reprimanded (and even get hit and humiliated) if you don’t grasp the said scale.

As an answer, Hisako just smiled. It was Soojin who told her that smiling as a form of response will get her places and it’s obvious with the way Director Kang reciprocates her smile.

“Anyway, we’re on our way to meet a client outside. I want you to come with us so you can experience your first client call.”

All Hisako can do is sigh in silent frustration as Director Kang just left to go back to his office, leaving her with her boss’ secretary, Ms. Pyo, who seems to understand Hisako’s annoyance. She gave Hisako a ‘hang in there’ smile before the older man emerges from his office again, playing what looked like the company credit card in his hands.

“Can’t forget to bring this.”

Director Kang said in a sing-song tone as he taps the credit card on his temple.

“What a cheap piece of ,” Hisako whispers to herself and rolls her eyes when Director Kang passed by the two of them, eliciting a small giggle from Ms. Pyo.

In the middle of dinner, where Hisako and Ms. Pyo were actually being ignored by all the men they were on the table with, Hisako’s phone started vibrating like crazy inside of her pantsuit. At first, she wanted to ignore it, wanting to focus on the topic Director Kang and the customers were talking about. But the reverberating in her pocket persisted and she excused herself to take the call. Director Kang just sways his hand allowing her to do what she wants while his focus is still on the customers.

When Hisako made her way to exit the restaurant, she fishes her phone from her pocket to see Chanyeol calling.

“What does he need now?” Hisako whispers to herself before answering the call. “Hello—”

“HISAKO!!!”

The loud greeting that entered her eardrum made her grimace as she pulls her device away from her ear.

“HISAKO… Are… Are you there? Why aren’t answering my call—”

“Chanyeol, what do you want? I’m in the middle of a client meeting.”

Hisako whispered through her gritted teeth as if she’s in a very silent setting when she’s literally outside with enough noise as to not seem rude to answer a call.

“This late?”

Chanyeol giggles and Hisako hears people screaming in the background while music is blaring. What the hell is he up to?

“Make it quick Chanyeol, I don’t have the time.”

Hisako clicks her tongue as she waits for Chanyeol to say what he has to say.

“Can you… Can you pick me up?” Chanyeol pauses as he let out another giggle mix with another person laughing… A girl.

“What? Are you insane? You have a car, don’t waste my time Chanyo—”

“Please, Hisako, I’m so drun—.” Chanyeol hiccups. “—drunk. I can’t d-drive…”

Hisako lets out an annoyed sigh before trying to calm herself. Why would Chanyeol call her? Given that they kind of bonded for the last few months, but they’re not that kind of close yet. Why didn’t he call one of the boys, why not one of his rich boy butlers, whatever he has in his rich boy home? For sure they’d pick him up. Why her of all people, why a busy career woman like her, a lawyer for God’s sake!

“Why are you calling me? Why didn’t you call one of the boys?”

Hisako calmly told