Baekhyun woke up, the remnants of a dream he was having still running through his mind. The room was lit blue in early-morning light and he looked at his bedside alarm clock to see it was only six in the morning. When he couldn't go back to sleep after laying around for another twenty minutes, he got up to use the restroom, donning on his shirt and jacket.

Throwing a cursory glance to the snuggling duo of Jongin and Yixing (Jongin had probably sleep-walked to Yixing's bed during the night), he proceeded out of the room. The sun had not risen yet, and the hallways were quiet. Knowing Chanyeol and Jongdae would still be snoring, he decided to look around the place instead of going to their room.

Walking slowly on the marble lobby floor, he saw the sign reading 'Sun Room and Garden' and started in its direction.

The indoor garden was one of the most attractive parts of the hotel facility, from what Baekhyun remembered Junmyeon telling them over lunch. But what the guy had said, didn't do any justice the scene that lay before his eyes.

There was an array flowers arranged into well-manicured beds that led from the entrance glass doors, to the end of the large room surrounded by glass walls. The immense beauty gave Baekhyun a feeling of spring, in stark contrast to the snow covered bare trees outside on the mountains that he could see beyond the glass. A small wooden bridge crossed over to the rear grassy end of the garden.

But what really took Baekhyun's breath away was a lone figure standing in the middle of the green patio, her brown locks flowing down till mid-back. Clad in pajamas and a white hoodie too large for her frame, she seemed to be lost in the scene beyond the glass. Heart thudding, Baekhyun stepped lightly across the bridge and came to stand beside her.

Taeyeon opened her eyes upon the feeling of a presence beside her, and turned to find Baekhyun there.

"Hi", She greeted lightly. Maybe it was because of the beautiful serenity surrounding her, but Taeyeon didn't feel perturbed by his presence for once.

He looked away from the way he had been gazing at her, and cleared his throat. “Can't sleep?"

"Yeah. It was too peaceful. I'm used to city noise. You?"

"Same"

Her attention was diverted back to the white blanketed mountains, as the sun began to rise from between them and she closed her eyes as if in a prayer.

Baekhyun's heart skipped a beat, as the first rays of the sun fell on her calm face, surrounding her in a celestial aura. "Beautiful"

She opened her eyes, looking straight outside towards the golden warmth. "It is, isn't it?"

Color rose to Baekhyun's face as he tore his gaze away, towards the horizon. "Y-yeah, it is"

You're falling dude, a voice echoed in his head. And this time, the realization didn't scare him at all.

_

"May I come in?", Kyungsoo asked as he opened the large metal door, after straightening his black tie one last time.

"Yes, please come in Mr. Do, have a seat", The man behind the desk stood up from his seat, smiling invitingly as he gestured to the couches on one side of the room. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, dyed black hair sleekly pulled back and his grey suit carried with perfection. Eyes covered with black-rimmed glasses and emitting a vibe filled with grace and warmth, Kyungsoo wondered if the guy was really involved with the mafia. Looks can be deceiving, he reminded himself as he bowed and held out a hand, which the other shook with a bow himself.

"So what would you like to have? Drinks? Or shall we order something to eat? Might I tell you that our pastry chef here makes heavenly pleasantries!", The man offered.

"Thankyou Mr. Kim, but I already ate and drank enough this morning", He refused politely. It wasn't like he could be expected to have an appetite when his insides were churning in anxiety of what might lay ahead. "So why did you call me here?"

"Straight to business, huh? I like that", The man raised an eyebrow in appreciation, before settling down and ordering a coffee for himself. Kyungsoo gave a wan smile.

"You see that picture behind my desk, Mr. Do?", The man pointed to a life-size portrait of a girl as he set down the receiver. Kyungsoo squinted his eyes to look at it. The girl looked familiar for some reason but Kyungsoo couldn't put his finger on where he had seen her. "That's my daughter, Nayeon", Kyungsoo gave a slight nod in response, wondering how that was relevant to him.

"She just turned 18", the man kept looking at the picture, his voice wistful. "She's my only child, and ever since her mother died, she seems to have developed an aversion to everything around her, including me. It's my fault too, I didn't understand what she needed, didn't know how to be a good parent to her after spending so much of my time away on business matters when my wife was still alive. So I can't even blame her for being so distant from me all the time...."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

The man finally tore his gaze away, and sighed. "Because she's the reason I called you here today"

"Sorry, am I missing something here?", Kyungsoo was confused.

"You need to marry her"

Kyungsoo thought he had misheard. "Sorry, what?"

Mr. Kim sat forward, his expression thoughtful. "I said you should marry her. I will forgo the loan on your company in return, and help your mother in bringing the business back up"

Kyungsoo scrunched his brows in amusement. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"It isn't", The man's expression remained stoic.

Kyungsoo was speechless. To say that the things the man had just proposed to him were absurd, was an understatement.

"Mr. Kim, I'm not sure who put such a preposterous idea in your head but I will pretend I never heard it", Kyungsoo got up. He hadn't meant to be rude, but with the way things were he really couldn't be blamed. And the worst part was, that the man didn't look the least bit ashamed after proposing such a ludicrous deal. Bargaining his daughter's life no less.

"You have three days to think about it", Mr. Kim spoke up as he turned to leave.

Kyungsoo's felt frustrated. What was the man's deal? "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you suggest something like this?"

The man went back to glancing longingly at the picture behind his desk. "Sometimes we need to do things for the people we love, things we hadn't imagined doing in our weirdest dreams"

Kyungsoo shook his head. The man was crazy if nothing else. "Good day, Mr. Kim" He said before leaving the room without looking back.

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A/N: Guys do let me know what you think? We are nearing the final arc. 

Thankyou for reading!