" Bye, Naeun-ah! " , was said by many.

Naeun's two other days in Baekhyun's work company was already over and in the matter of those couple of days, she was known by many in the company and they would take the chance to approach her with a smile whenever they'd see her around in Baekhyun's arms during their breaks. For sure they all really loved her.

" Aww man, will this the last time we'll see her here? " Jongin pouted, putting a finger out for the little one to grab.

Baekhyun laughed. He bounced Naeun in his arms for a bit and shook his head, " I can't believe this, it's only been three days and you guys are so attached to her already? "

Minseok and Jongin shrugged.

It really wasn't necessary for them to do so but having had a little special bond with her, Jongin and Minseok thought that it would be nice to leave their posts just to find Baekhyun and Naeun, to see the father and daughter off when Baekhyun texted them that they, specifically Naeun, were leaving.

They knew that the next time they are going to see her will take a rather long while.

" I hope that this isn't the last time she'll be here though " Minseok said, with Jongin nodding to what he had said.

" Im not too sure about that, i have my helper at home... but I guess I could take the effort once in a while to bring her here "

" Sure hope you do but as for now, I think you should go " Jongin chuckled, lightly rubbing the little one's cheek,  " She is dozing off "

" Will you be coming back here later after going home to finish the rest of the working hours or are you done for the day? " Minseok then checks his watch, "Well, I mean, it would be pointless for you to come back here when the working hours are about to end in another two hours "

Baek shook his head, " I'm done for the day. Halfway through the meeting, I received a call from my helper. CEO Park insisted that I leave work earlier just for today, " he said.

Minseok and Jongin nodded, " Alright, we'll see you tomorrow then, goodbye "

 " See you two tomorrow, bye ", He waved and left, with the little one sleeping in his arms.

-

At the carpark, Baekhyun got to his car and unlocked the doors with a press of his carkeys. As he struggled to place his briefcase and buckled Naeun up, he heard chasing footsteps of hard shoes' and someone calling out to his name,

" Baekhyun! Secretary Byun! "

Baekhyun frowned as he step back to turned around, finding his boss lightly running towards him, " CEO Park! The meeting has ended? "

" Yea, " Chanyeol panted, " We decided that today's meeting can be cut short as turns out, I was worrying for nothing, the other directors were hesitant but they were supportive of my proposal "

" So are we going make it happen soon? " Baek asked excitedly.

" Im not too sure when, still in the midst of discussing a few matters but we are on the right track  "

Baekhyun smiled to have heard that things are going good so far, " But what are you doing here? "

Chanyeol strained his neck a little to take a look at Naeun, who was sound asleep, he chuckled, " Just felt like I need to goodbye to Naeun but I guess I can't do that "

Baekhyun snickered, " I'll let her know you did "

" Will this be the last time I see her? ", Chanyeol putting up a hopeful expression, in hoping that his secretary would say a chance that they could meet.

" Im not too sure, when there are times to come for that to happen then i'll let you know " Baekhyun gave a pursed lips smile.

-

At the doorstep, Baekhyun was greeted by Jinah. Jinah offered Baekhyun to hand Naeun in her arms. Seeing how Naeun was sleeping like a log, Baekhyun told her to give Naeun a change into her pajamas and tuck her in bed.

At the same time, Baekhyun went ahead into his room and took a warm shower that he very much needed.

Once he had finally came out of the shower, he headed to the kitchen to place his dirty clothing in the laundry basket. Rummaging the fridge for a carton of apple juice, he heard his domestic helper calling him from behind. He closed the fridge's door and turned to look at Jinah with a carton of apple juice in his hands. He raised a brow at her.

" There's something that I need to talk to you about ", She lowered her head slightly as she said.

Baekhyun poured a glass for himself and Jinah, gesturing for them to sit at the dining table so they could talk it out,

" How are things with you and your family? " He asked, taking a sip of his juice.

" We're good but... " Jinah fidget her fingers underneath the table, " My dad is not which is why I need to talk to you "

Baek frowned with concern at that, " What's wrong? "

" Before I got called to go home, he was sent to a hospital as he had experienced chest pain, much severe than before and at the hospital, he got diagnosed with coronary heart disease "

" Oh my goodness " Baek gasped.

" I got things discussed with the doctor and he's gone through a successful bypass surgery but my brother decided that he wanted to work full time so that he could help out better financially so there isn't anyone except my mum to stay there and take care of him. My mum isn't very much younger than my dad either so I am afraid that taking care of my dad will be too much for her as well.

I love working for you and taking care of Naeun but I want to be there for them which is why, Mr Byun, I regretfully would like to request to resign " 

Baekhyun sighed as he snuggled into his pillows, unable to sleep and troubled. Now, he only has Jinah with them for a few days before she goes home. After that talk and brought up of her sudden decision to leave, he decided that he didn't have a choice and plus allowing her to visit her parents daily whilst working for them would be exhausting because Jinah lives three hours away.

Stress only comes in when he starts to think for Naeun. Jinah won't be here anymore and he can't just keep bringing Naeun to work no matter how much people loved her. The only choice he was left with was to send her to a playhouse for children of her age and maybe it was about time she's sent to one. Baekhyun sighed, he made a mental note to do up a research about the schools available and tried his best to shrug his worries away to force himself to sleep.

-

Baekhyun slumped himself at his post the next morning and rubbed his face with his elbows rested on the table. He sighed, last night wasn't a good night's sleep for him. He peeled his hands off his face and started his laptop to start his search up before the CEO comes.

Chanyeol finally arrived later on and he walked out of the lift to find his secretary already there as always. Fully aware that it will be till next time that he sees Naeun again, Chanyeol still feels slightly odd not see the little girl beside his secretary. He chuckled it off and walked up to his secretary's post,

" Good morning " He smiled.

" Good morning , Mr Park " Baekhyun looked up from his laptop and replied groggily.

Taken aback by the smaller's tone and facial expression, Chanyeol felt that something's wrong. Baekhyun had never gave him such a... dreadful ' Good morning ' before. A bad night's sleep could it be?

" Could you perhaps brew me a cup of coffee? " he asked, trying not to put too much thought to it.

" Mmm " Baekhyun nodded, trying as much to hide his grumpy tone as it is rather rude.

" Thank you "

Knocking on the mahogany door, Chanyeol voiced out for Baekhyun to come in. His secretary walked in with a tray in his hands and gently placed the cup of coffee on the CEO's table. The air was pretty tensed and Chanyel blames it on his secretary.

To lighten it up, Chanyeol chuckled, " It feels weird without Nauen, eh? How is she? "

Baekhyun smiled slightly, " She threw a tantrum when I had to leave this morning but she's good "

The sigh when he mentioned about Naeun throwing a tantrum did not go unnoticed by Chanyeol but still he nodded, " That's good that she is good, i guess '

Not knowing what to say next, Baekhyun bowed before turning to make a leave. Watching, the CEO really didn't like how moody his secretary was, 

" Baekhyun "

He stopped and turned around.

" What's wrong, hmm? " 

" What do you mean? Im fine "

" Yea, giving me the most dreadful good morning from you and you being all moody sure tells me that you are totally fine "

Baekhyun shied, facing to look at the floor.

" Is there something wrong? "

" Its just... Naeun, I don't have anyone who can take care of her and it's been bothering me "

" What? What about your domestic helper? "

" She decided that she wants to quit and she has a valid reason to do so, so i let her but i asked that she stays for maybe a week for me so i have time to sort things out "

" What about Naeun then? "

" That's the thing, I can only think about sending her to a playschool that caters to her age group "

Chanyeol's phone suddenly sounded a notification which interrupted their conversation.

" Im sorry "

Baekhyun shook his head.

" Let's have lunch together today, so you can talk it all out and I'll be there to listen " 

" No, i don't want to bother you with my personal life "

Chanyeol practically ignored whatever the secretary had just said, " Lunch at one o'clock then "

Baekhyun's jaw dropped at how his boss just did that. Chanyeol cleared his throat, " I'll be sending in some things i need help to research on and then a few emails i need you to send but first of all, go make yourself some coffee and relax a little"

-

Chanyeol and Baekhyun had settled themselves in a nice ramen restaurant for lunch.

" Im paying for my own lunch " Baekhyun said firmly, that one time that his boss had paid for his and Naeun's lunch, he was more than grateful and now he just wants to pay for himself.

" I- "

" Please? You'll be helping me lessen some weight off my shoulders too " Baekhyun smiled to prove his point.

" Fine "

The both of them had ordered their food and are waiting for them to arrive. As they wait, they continued their conversation off from the morning.

" So why did your domestic helper all so suddenly wanted to quit? "

Baekhyun sighed, " Her dad's just got a heart surgery done "

" Oh no... "

" Yeah, and her brother's occupying himself with his job so that he could help out better financially whcih meant that her mother was left to take care of the dad. My helper's afraid that it'll be too much work for her mum and that she felt like wanting to actually be there for them,.

" Can't she just visit them daily? "

Baekhyun shook his head, " she lives 3 hours away, if i let her do that, she'd get exhausted "

Chanyeol nodded.

Just then, their food had arrived.

" So now you're planning to send Naeun to a playschool? " Chanyeol says as he gave a Baekhyun a pair of chopsticks.

" Thank you and yea, it's pretty much the only choice I have left, I don't know I mean, I could have just hire another helper but putting in much thought I felt like I'll be isolating Naeun at home. So I feel letting her go to playschool and make some friends would be better for her and help her in many ways, especially socially  "

" That could work and it doesnt sound like a bad idea, why is it affecting you so much? "

" Its not that that's bothering me, its just, "

Baekhyun paused and took a breath before going on, " Im a bad dad " he says.

" Baekhyun, what are you even saying? "

Chanyeol starts to see tears forming in the his secretary eyes and quickly adds in, " You're not a bad dad "

" I am " , Baekhyun couldn't hold it in anymore, the feelings that he couldn't explain with words were too much. He put down his chopsticks and covered his face as he starts to sob quietly.

" Baekhyun.. " Chanyeol placed a hand on Baek's wrist, caressing lightly with his thumb.

" I'm not able to give her the love by her other dad and yet I spent so little time with her " Baekhyun sniffles, " When I come home from work, i try to spend more than hour with her but most of the times when im back from work she is already sleeping or going to fall asleep and it is only in the mornings that she sees me but i have to leave for work. God knows how much my heartaches when I see her start to cry when i have to leave "

Guilt overthrew him and Baekhyun sobs harder into his palms, looking so vulnerable and making Chanyeol's heart clench. 

" Baekhyun, hey, don't cry, look at me " Chaneyol reached out to hold both wrists to peel his hands away from his face and wiped his tears with a tissue. Only when Baekhyun calms down and looks into Chanyeol's warm gaze, the CEO speaks again,

" Listen to me, you're not a bad dad. Not being able to give her her other dad's love isn't even your fault, it is clearly out of your reach to do so and remember what I've told you? Having seen the way you care for her, she doesn't need her other dad's love because your love is more than enough and all that she needs "

Chanyeol cleared his throat, " As for the working hours, I..I'm sorry that it can't be fixed "

As expected, Baekhyun was quick to stop him, " No, it's fine "

" I can try think up of a small change in your work schedule so that you can have a little more time with her. If not, you are free to resign if you need to- "

" No! I like this job and I need this job, im fine and more than grateful to just have a small change in my schedule "

" Alright then, as soon as possible, I'll let you know of the changes I can give for your schedule "

" Thank you so much, Mr Park " Baekhyun bowed.

" It's okay, I just want you to know that if there's anything that's bothering you, feel free to talk to me about it, yes I'm your boss but i want to be able to help you too "

They went back to finishing their bowl of ramen when Chanyeol got a phone call,

" Yes, Director Kim? Another meeting? "

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol curious.

" Alright, I'll be back soon "

" What's the matter? " Baekhyun asks when he had hung up, " Is it about the proposal? " Baekhyun smiled as he mentions the proposal.

" Mmm " Chanyeol nodded, " And looks like I'm needed back at the company "

" I'm already done so we can go "

-

Ever since lunch, Chanyeol had become busier with a couple directors back at the company, needing to arrange visits, make calls and researches here and there, the CEO and secretary had barely talk since then

By the end of the working hours, Chanyeol and the directors were still on discussion so Baekhyun was told that he could make a move first.

Now, he's back at home. On the bed with Naeun, humming a random yet soothing tune as she snuggled in his arms. Baekhyun's phone started vibrating. Seeing that " CEO Park " was on the screen, he carefully stretched to grab his phone and answer the call .

" Mr Park? "

" Hey, did I interrupt your sleep? "

" No, I've not turned into bed yet "

" Oh that's great, I just wanted to call and say that the proposal's a success "

" Oh my goodness, really? " Baekhyun said in a hushed tone.

" Yes " Chanyeol chuckled, " But also because we're going to have partnerships with other countries, I'd like to tell you this now so that you have a couple of days to consider "

" Hmm? What is it? "

" I want you to come with me on my business trip to Japan. Oh! And bring Naeun along as well "

" What?! " Baekhyun gasped, slightly wincing as Naeun stirred in his arms, forgetting that she's there.

" Yes, you've heard me, it is a big business process so I'd like my secretary to be there to assist me "

" B-But Naeun? "

" I'd like that you'd bring her along "

♡ im in the midst of tidying it up, but i thought i'd update first !! im so sorry this took so long >~<

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