14.

Minseok beams at both of them then gets up, patting their backs gently. "I'll leave, you two should talk. Calm down first and we will discuss about it."

With that, he disappears behind the door, and now again, there are only Baekhyun and her in that silent space. The girl has calmed down a lot than before that doesn't mean those feelings are shoved away, all of them just mixed up together – the guilt, the pain, the sorrow – making her feel bad all along. Perhaps this is the price that she had to pay, the uneasiness in her heart.

The lady's mind suddenly shift to the lunchboxes that they left in Baekhyun's room earlier, reminding her that Baekhyun hasn't had his meals yet so she lift her bum from the couch in Minseok's office as she softly asks, "Let's go, you should have your lunch."

However those steps of hers halt halfway for the other person holds her back before pulling the lady back to face him in just one tug.

"All you talked since this morning is about meals," he breathes. "Don't you have something else in your mind?"

She stares at his face, her heart drops due to the current situation. Those eyes shoot an intense and sharp gaze yet are pleading for an answer, but that pale face turns gentler before he lands the crook of his neck on her shoulder, connecting both of them in an embrace.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier, idiot?” The wrap of Baekhyun’s arms around her shoulder tightens as he continues, “We could live a happier life if you just tell me the truth. We don’t have to be apart of each other if I learn the truth since from the start.”

“I’m sorry, B.” The lady’s hands reach for his waist as she slowly hug him in response. Her shoulders hitch up as she starts sobbing, “I’m so sorry, I thought…I thought you should have lived a better life in pursuing your dreams. That is why…” She halts as her cries get harder. She feels suffocated of seeing Baekhyun’s condition lately, her heart is heavy to see him in pain. Obviously she never thought that things would turn out this way, of meeting Baekhyun again with that condition. "But, Baek…were you planning not to tell me?"

The lady squirms in the embrace as she try to pull away from him, before her fist lands on his shoulder – pushing Baekhyun away from her. “You were just going to leave without saying anything, weren’t you?”

"It's not that..."

"Then what?"

Baekhyun attempts to close their distance with a hug but again, she moves away with a light punch on his shoulder. “You told me not to feel sorry but how could I not be sorry when things turn out this way? Does that even make any senses?”

He looks at her with a brittle beam on his face, a sad look in his eyes. “I – just – I wanted to die in a cool way.” And so she sobs louder than before, even with her hands muffling and Baekhyun stays in silence as he watches his woman with a look full of regrets. Her heart breaks at the thought of it. How can someone be prepared to die? That is not how it works, moreover with the fact that Baekhyun himself has it in his mind, her heart tears apart.

"W-what the heck?" Again, her hands hit Baekhyun left and right on his chest. "I hate you, how could you think of that?"

Baekhyun pouts as he hold back those hands from striking his chest. "Stop hitting, it hurts." Again, that man pulls her into his arms, hugging her tight, close to his chest. As if they are meant for each other, her head fits to land on the crook of his neck.

The muffled sound of her cries gets louder as she circles her arms around that slim waist of Baekhyun's. "Don't die, you can't die," she demands. "If you do, I'm going to kill you."

The lady lifts her head as she heard Baekhyun's soft chuckles hitting her eardrums. "I'm being serious, I don't care I'm going to stick to you forever."

Baekhyun nods, the tips of his fingers softly grazing on the lady's cheeks, wiping her tears away with a soft sweet smile on his face. "I really miss this face," he breathes, then lands a peck on her forehead which again dripping down her well of tears. “Please, don’t cry again even you’re very beautiful when you do.”

He jokes, perhaps is also confessing but the lady frowns, ignoring all of those words before wrapping her hands around his waist, hugging Baekhyun tight. "I love you, Baekhyun. I won't leave you again."

"So…" Baekhyun hesitates, he glances at me and bites his lips before carefully asks, "...who's Chanyeol?"

I smile thinly, my hands reach for his before squeezing them gently. "A friend, we happened to meet 5 years ago."

"Oh,"

"Why?"

"Nothing. Just asking." I gaze at him to meet a smile on his face, "Is he nice?"

"He is."

"He treats you well, right?"

"Baekhyun."

"Yes?"

"Don't even think about it."

"I know, I'm just asking." It takes a while for the guy to voice out his wonders.

"Will the kids come here today?"

"They will, maybe after lunch." Baekhyun nods a few time then looks away, covering his mouth with that pretty hand. "Are they...growing up well?"

"They are, always are." I purses my lips together as I try to hold my tears back, and so a sad smile creeps on my face. "They're very kind, B. You'd be amazed when you know them." The room fills with silence for a while before I continue, "You guys should have meet since from the start. I shouldn't have–"

"Hey."

He holds my hands back, gripping them tight and tug them lightly as a sign for me to look at hi