I do!

Chaos. 

Shock. 

Sadness. 

Those are the three emotions most people felt when SM Entertainment announced Baekhyun's retirement from the industry and engagement to Park Chanyeol. There was no one who saw it coming, not this soon. The confusion it unleashed was so immense that they organized a press conference where both companies would be present to clear the bewilderment. 

"Is he being kicked out of the industry?"

"Why is he retiring so suddenly?"

"Did he get fired or did he quit voluntarily?"

"When are they getting married?"

"Silence, please," Kyungsoo said calmly, shutting up most of the rowdy journalists. He cleared his throat. 

"Byun Baekhyun was fired by us out of our best interest-"

"But why?"

"What caused that decision?"

"Would you allow me to finish?" he interrupted sternly, turning the room quiet again. "I'll let Baekhyun and CEO Park explain that themselves. I request for the audience to remain silent and save questions for later, as the story is difficult to follow if you do not pay attention," Kyungsoo said and walked off the stage, handing it over to Chanyeol and Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun glanced at Chanyeol who gave him a nod of assurance, taking hold of his hand and pulling him along to the microphone. 

"Hello, this is CEO Park Chanyeol from PCY Enterprises."

Flashes of cameras instantly went off, as if on command. It used to startle Baekhyun but after being photographed so often when he was simply walking on the street it was normal. 

"I'm here to clear the confusion surrounding the news involving me and Baekhyun, but there is a story that needs to be told first," he said, eyeing the woman sitting in the audience. 

Baekhyun squeezed Chanyeol's hand as he grew more nervous. It was the secret he was planning to take to his grave that was going to be revealed to the public. The story that caused all of this at the start. In the back of the room was Choi Sera sitting next to CEO Kim, giving her thumbs up to the couple. 

"When I was twenty two, before I became the CEO of PCY Enterprises, I had a relationship with Choi Sera. Two years later, when I was twenty four, we had a daughter," he confessed. "That daughter is the girl you have all come to known as Park Jihae, our adopted child. She's my biological child and lived in secret for three years."

There were gasps of surprise and whispers amongst the people. It was outrageous! They covered up an illegitemate child's existance just like that! 

"I took care of her on my own. I used to resent Sera for this, but I don't anymore. I wish for you to do the same. She has requested to see her once a month to try and build a bond with her."

"Anyway, because people were starting to find out, I needed a cover up. I initially hired Baekhyun as my assistant with the intent of having him act as her father, but people knew he was my assistant, so that didn't work out," he took a short pause to have a sip of water. 

"We were never married. It was a contract signed to protect my daughter."

The word was out. Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol had a fake relationship, a fake marriage and a fake story. Choi Sera is an absent mother. Nothing could be any more shocking than this. 

"Upon finding out that I had gotten married, Choi Sera reacted in an immature way which she had expressed her deepest apologies for. She released the old modelling blog of Baekhyun to the public and later on blackmailed him into signing under her company and become a model. When he refused, she claimed custody on my daughter. He signed and sacrificed his old life for her," Chanyeol said, feeling tears well up in his eyes at the memory of it. He remembered how alone and broken he felt then, realizing his girl was snatched away from him. He was forever grateful for Baekhyun sacrificing everything he had to bring her back. 

"As time went on, we fell in love. Actually in love. And when we realized that we got together, but our busy schedules quickly clashed and caused us to lose trust in eachother and lie. We split and that's when the news broke out we were divorced."

"That's all there is to say on my behalf. I'll pass the microphone onto Baekhyun to explain his retirement from the industry," Chanyeol said and stepped away, allowing Baekhyun to take his spot. 

He cleared his throat and swallowed anxiously. 

"Hi."

"I'm Byun Baekhyun, but I guess you already knew that.. Ah, uh-" he started off rough, causing the audience to laugh a little. He broke out into a nervous smile before continuing. 

"I was a model under KIM Entertainment, and later transferred over to SM Entertainment. I was trained there to debut as an idol singer and did so, but against my own will. This life of fame wasn't even given to me. It was pushed onto me and I worked hard to fullfill everyone's expectations while ignoring my own wishes."

"I had no time for the people around me anymore to the point that I couldn't even congratulate my best friend for getting engaged. It.. I want to say that it was fun but to be fair I can't recall what I felt during those times. Was it really something for me? No, not really. But I didn't worry about how I felt and just did what I was told," he admitted. He laid everything out on the table, no more holding back.

The truth had to be told.

"I kept my own pain to myself and rarely let it show. I worried for Chanyeol and asked my friend to see how he was holding up because I had no time to do it myself, and to be honest I was ashamed when I heard he wasn't doing well. I blamed myself because I felt that it was my fault. I wanted to see him and go back, but I couldn't. I wanted to, I wanted to go back so badly, but my busy schedule stopped me."

"When I found out I had some free time for once, I impulsively went to Chanyeol. I went there and didn't think about the paparazzi following me, I just went there to see him," he said with a sheepish smile on his face.

"The photo was released almost immediately and I got called back to the company. My manager came to pick me up and when we got there, my heart hurt when I saw her break down into tears. She was afraid she'd lose her job for allowing a scandal to happen," he paused for a moment when he remembered the fear and frustration on her face. It was the same with Taeyeon when he was transferred. 

"Well, nothing like that happened. I was the one who lost his job," he said with a laugh. 

"I wasn't fired. Just confronted with the truth I had hidden from myself. The truth being that I wasn't happy, and that honestly, I was too old to b