PRE A/N:  Sorry for the disturbance, but seeing a huge amount of negative comments (mostly for Baekhyun's character) after the previous chapter, I kinda feel that I should explain things a little bit. Please read even though it's long and annoying.

The sort of y-angsty part in last chapter stirred lot of reactions from the readers, but sadly, they're not the one I expected while I wrote the chapter. There's no scene, no incident which are included randomly in this story. All of the scenes have some weight behind them. And as I've already said in the previous A/N, that this scene is also very important for future. Along with it's future related importance, it does have a present value as well. That I'm gonna explain a little bit here.

That particular scene was included solely so that yall can see till which extend Baekhyun is ready to go just to make sure Munhee is happy. Despite not being ready for such moments, despite still having the memories of his lost partner, he tried his best. Losing a life partner is a really serious loss in someone's life, so anyone would need more than some time and some cute moments to genuinely fall for someone new. Just keep yourself in his shoe for a minute and I hope you'll get a tiny bit idea what he might be going through. (And those, who are angry on him for not giving Munhee physical pleasure, I want to send yall a message, and that's  is not the only way to show/form/bloom love. The situation the both characters are in, they need something deeper than a simple to learn to love again, if possible. So if any of you are looking for only y things to happen between them, then I'm sorry, this story is not what you're looking for!)

 The character Baekhyun has been hated since the beginning, so I just feel it's kind of become a habit for everyone to find faults in him, ignoring his point of view, or his circumstances, everyone just go out for judging him. ( I don't mind when yall judge him for his rude/idiotic deeds, because he's supposed to be annoying like that lol, but he does have some good sides, please don't ignore them or I'd be a crying mess loll :()

I don't blame anyone for this, I believe there was lacking in the way I portrayed that scene, so readers couldn't get to see what I wanted them to see. And I apologize for my lackings in ability to write exactly in a way which could make the readers understand what I want to say through a particular scene. 

My request would be, as I don't know how to improve myself (in case of writing), I want yall to try putting a little effort to understand the situation from both of the characters' perspective, rather than depending only on one. (I know that I've kept Baekhyun's perspective mostly vague, but I have my reasons for that too. I am gonna provide one or two chapters on Baek's pov, that's why I'm keeping all his feelings locked throughout the story, just letting some small glimpse out.)

Okay it's getting longer. I hope yall get what I wanted to say here. Don't be demotivated to comment. The comment section is always open for any kind of comments. I just thought I might have failed to render the exact meaning in the last chapter, and if someone misunderstands, then they would just keep getting upset over the characters rather than seeing what I want them to see.

Thank you for  reading ❤

And huge thank you to the readers who managed to grasp the inclined meaning behind the scene, which I targeted to show in the first place despite the writing being messy. (>_<)

 

 

 

 

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(Warning: Boring & unnecessary chapter ahead!)

 

 

 

 

 

Munhee found herself sitting before one of the tables of an outdoor restaurant near the beach.  She was the one who had suggested this place when Baekhyun's awkward confused face was getting too much for her while he was pondering over the options at where they should have lunch. She knew Baekhyun enough to know that he was just trying to act normal so that the thick silent awkwardness formed between them wouldn't be so obviously visible.  

Munhee was glad for her hasty suggestion, despite suggesting it on the spur of moment, it was really all she could ask for at this moment. She finally understood the significance of the unpopular saying; Sky above, sand below, peace within. The not-so-distant sound of calm waves continuously clashing above one another, the refreshing ocean breeze, the natural scent of ocean, everything did help her in sorting the jumbles ruining her insides. Even though some really disturbing thoughts from earlier were crippling from a distant corner of her mind, she still found some peace.

Munhee's serene mind again started to whirl when she saw Baekhyun sitting on the seat opposite her from her peripheral vision. He was back after placing the order for their food.   

"This is nice."  Baekhyun said as he trailed his eyes where Munhee had been gazing, the sea was beautiful as ever.  "How did you know about this place?"  He then turned his attention fully on her as he waited for her answer. He didn't ask any unnecessary question this time. It seemed natural for him to get curious as the restaurant they're at wasn't any of the most famous and highly rated restaurants in Jeju. It was also a good thirty minutes away from their hotel. So it's not really weird for him to wanting to about know her  recognition towards this place.

Munhee forced herself to tear her eyes away from the calming sea, she was having a hard time to make an eye contact with her husband after whatever happened back in their suite, so she put her concentration on the glass of  welcome juice placed in front of her.   "I watched some vloggers' videos on YouTube. Most of the time vloggers provide honest reviews and they don't just go after popular places. Some of them do help the viewers to find something unique and beautiful. That's how I found out about this restaurant."  Munhee supplied while playing with the straw, not even looking up to the male. 

"I see. Place is good. I hope the food would also be good."  Baekhyun mumbled before taking a long sip from his glass of juice.

Munhee gave him a tiny eye contact and nodded at him. And then, both of them went back to being silent, looking back at the mesmerizing natural beauty in front of them. Though Munhee would have to admit, this time the silence was a little better than the one they had gone through when she had to spend more than ten minutes to cover the hickeys, which were already forming with hints of reddish marks, around her neck with concealer. How much she regretted not considering to bring  any heavy coverage make-up products here at that time.

 

"Enjoy your food."  The waiter served their ordered food and gave the couple a welcoming smile before leaving them to enjoy the steaming hot platters of sea food. The lunch went almost in silence, the only things were spoken between them were the times when Baekhyun would ask her whether she liked the food or not, or whether she needed help with the crab or not, in this case he did end up helping her with the crab even though she had politely refused him, but then again Munhee successfully managed to embarrass herself while handling the food, or whether she needed another serving of the items or not.  

"Do you have any place in mind to go next?"  Baekhyun asked as they lazily strolled through the shores, shoes in their hands, feet sipping through the cold wet sand, time to time getting the flash of sea water until their ankles as they didn't go much near the actual water. 

"Huh?"  Broken from her trance, Munhee tore her eyes from the waves for the nth time to look up at him. "I..I don't know.."  She mumbled honestly. 

"Okay, let's just keep walking then."  Baekhyun shrugged and they continued strolling.

Probably fifteen to twenty minutes later, the couple found themselves sitting on the plain rocks near the shore as walking for long just after a full meal wasn't the best idea out there. 

Munhee silently played with the ankle deep water, softly waving her legs while looking down. Her subtle movements stopped when she heard her husband sighing loudly. She swallowed and looked down beside her since Baekhyun had settled himself on a lower rock beside her. His calm face suddenly looked really tired as he stared back at her. His face, his eyes holding thousands of words but it seemed like he was contemplating on what to exactly say. 

Munhee swallowed for the second time as she couldn't find the courage in herself to keep the eye contact intact for longer. Before she could completely tear her eyes from the male, she felt his hands rounding around hers, gently making her whole figure face his direction. 

"Munhee, I know you've been helping me for so long, with so many things, always been too generous with me. But can I ask another favor from you?"  He started timidly, his gaze lowered, most probably at their connected hands before he lifted his gaze up towards her face. 

"What is it?" Munhee asked, unsure of how to react as she couldn't grasp what kind of favor he would ask of her.

"I... Can you forget what happened earlier?"  He asked nervously. When he saw Munhee giving him an unsure face he continued,  "I know despite how many times I apologize it wouldn't matter much. But I can't do anything more than apologizing.  I also know just by asking you to forget it won't make you forget it in a second.  Still, I want you to know that I'm extremely regretful of what I did, I m-mean it. I don't want to ruin our friendship that has been formed after so many ups and downs. I...I just wanted to provide you what you deserve as my wife. I should've confirmed more clearly before starting..."

"Baekhyun. That's alright. I already told you that I don't expect any of that sort from our relationship.  Whatever happened back there, it was nothing but a miscommunication. You don't need to apologize because I know how you must've been feeling. I might not know but I can understand to some extend how much you had to go through before taking that step just because you could fulfill my... rights. These things were never our priorities behind this marriage. I would be content just with seeing our babies grow up with the love of both parent. Meanwhile, we can be friends as we've promised to be?"  Munhee almost bit her lip when she used the words 'our babies'  and she was thankful that Baekhyun didn't point it out that they weren't hers and his kids in the first place, she herself felt a little shocked at how naturally the words flowed through . Even though they're all a family now, sometimes, in some cases it felt little foreign to use a simple but meaningful word like 'Our'. She silently wondered whether there would be a day in future when it wouldn't feel even a little bit dithering to use such words.

"But you have a whole life waiting ahead of yours. You must've had your own dreams of--" Baekhyun started, looking quite riled up but Munhee stopped him in midway.

"When I agreed to this marriage, from then I have accepted Miseo and Sarang wholly in my life. And now, they are not just two small parts of my life. They have become two most significant, inseparable parts of my life." Munhee paused for a brief second to check whether he was paying attention to her or not. Finding his eyes trailed over her, she again continued,   "So please remember, after accepting them in my life, if I'd ever foreseen a future, that future had nothing but them, their happiness.  Are we clear here?"  Munhee gave her husband a natural smile as speaking about her babies never failed to lift up her mood. Though, she thought she might've told something wrong when she noticed Baekhyun's unreadable gaze towards her.  

A large enough wave washed over their feet, startling Baekhyun enough to break the trance and dart his eyes elsewhere. Then he looked up to her again, this time a flash of gratefulness peeking through his orbs,  "Thank you. I always keep saying sorry for my nonsensical deeds that I never got to thank you properly."  He said in a small voice, hands tightening around her in appreciativeness for the slightest moment.  "I don't know where would me and the kids be now if not for you being here with us. Sure, the purpose of this arrangement was solely for the kids. But you did help me in the process. So remember this, if you'd ever need anything from me, anything, I'd be more than glad to provide you that. Always remember this. Hmm?" He lastly asked, giving her a soft friendly grin.

Munhee's heart thumped loudly for unacquainted reasons as she dumbly nodded. She found herself smiling back at him despite the weird sensation in her heart. His words were so sincere, holding a strong promise, a determination that it somehow overwhelmed her in many ways. Also, she had never expected him to thank her, but after getting a small but genuine gratification from the male, she felt a little proud of herself.  

 

 

 

 

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Later in the late afternoon, after their small but intense conversation, Baekhyun suggested that they should check out the nearby local market as they couldn't come up with anything better to do. So now, they were walking past the entrance of the nearest local market, that was actually at least ten minutes of walking distance from the restaurant they had their lunch at.

Baekhyun handed Munhee the coconut, which she had politely demanded  him to get for her as soon as her eyes caught a sight of them,  as she got thirsty after having to walk for so long and not to mention the weather in Jeju at daytime was quite humid.  "Does it taste sweet?" Baekhyun casually asked after Munhee had taken a first, long sip of the coconut water, while he drank a local juice.

 

"Coconut water is supposed to taste sweet." Munhee muttered, taking another longer sip to quench her thirst. "Do you wanna taste it?" She offered casually. Judging by his question, she assumed that he might want to have a little taste of it.

"No. It's for you. Drink up." He denied after eyeing the coconut, or more like the straw stuffed inside the coconut.

Munhee rolled her eyes, pulling out the white straw that had her pink lipstick marks.  "Here. Now you can have it. Actually, just finish it. I can't have anymore." Munhee shoved the coconut onto his free hand and rubbed her now full tummy, satisfied now that she didn't feel thirsty anymore. 

They roamed around in the local market, not missing to check out a single shop. The outer shops mostly had local foods, various unique fishes that Munhee never even heard the name of, she was sure Baekhyun was also as ignorant as her in this case. As they were going to stay here for another few days, they decided they wouldn't buy any sort of food right now since storaging the food would be an extra head ache. So they went deeper into the market, finding few interesting shops. 

 

Within next thirty minutes, Munhee had grabbed at least ten pair of different type of outfits for her babies as she was finding the clothing collection there pretty unique and eye-catching. She wished she could have her babies there, so that it would've been more fun to choose clothes for them as Baekhyun wasn't proving any helpful in picking out the best ones for the kids. He just stood beside her like a pillar, shopping bags in his one hand, moneybag in his other hand, ready to pluck out bills whenever needed. 

"What do you think about these green frocks? The kids don't have much of green outfits in their collection. But red suits them as well. I'm so confused. Help me pick one color!" A confused Munhee whined next to Baekhyun as they stood before one of the clothing shops. She was yet again, choosing some new designs for the kids. She couldn't help it even though she knew she might be overdoing it. But she was a woman, and the female population had a thing for dolling up their baby girls with as many different outfits as they could. Her babies being so cute and adorning every type of outfits made her even more helpless in controlling herself from buying too much.

"Get them all." He shrugged making his wife roll her eyes at his annoying answer.

"You know, you've said the same thing almost five times in a span of half an hour." Munhee complained, keeping her hands over her hips.  

"What's wrong in buying all?"  He grumbled. He never liked getting dragged in the shopping sprees. He started regretting his suggestion of visiting the local market just after ten minutes of their entry there.

" Ugh fine. You're of no help!"  She grumbled back, then asked the shopkeeper to pack all the four frocks. 

"Pack those two as well." Baekhyun spoke up to the shopkeeper, pointin