Baekhyun adjusted his robes, straightened his hat, took a deep breath, and knocked on the gate.

It opened and a servant poked his head out. The man recognized Baekhyun's face right away, and his eyes went round with surprise.

“I’m here to meet the Lady of the house. And Lord Kim. Please announce my arrival.”

The servant bowed hesitantly, and stepped aside while opening the gate for the guest to walk in. “Please come in.”

Baekhyu stepped in through the threshold, and the servant made his way towards the house to announce his arrival, but three people stormed out of the house before he could.

The first one was Kim Junmyeon, the second was his mother, and the last one was gayeon.

Gayeon noticed baekhyun first, and her eyes widened in shock. But the mother and son were busy with their own argument to notice their visitor.

“YOu must be insane Junmyeon,” the lady hung on Junmyeon’s arm, as he tried to wrench himself free while he tied his hat under his chin. “Junmyeon, you’re our only son, and the Royal Secretary of Jo-”

“And what does that have to do with my marriage?” Junmyeon freed himself from his mother, and turned around to stare at her. “Does marrying Kwon Hyunjoo make me less qualified to be your only son or the Royal Secretary?”

“Stop talking like a fool!” the lady wailed. “She’s our servant! She’s your sister’s handmaiden! How dare you just announce your marriage to a servant like you’re some ordinary man?”

Junmyeon raised his hands and fisted them, not knowing how to hold in his anger. “She’s not our servant anymore omma… I officially freed her, remember? And of course I’m just an ordinary man when it comes to marriage! I just want to marry someone whom I love. And someone who loves me!”

“Yes omma, please.” gayeon intervened in their argument. “Hyunjoo truly loves him. I can vouch for that.”

“She saved my life omma!” Junmyeon started reasoning again. “She saved me when I would’ve died and even got injured! And it wasn’t just once that she saved me!”

“Hyunjoo is almost like my sister omma…you know she’s a good girl.”

“Stop taking his side because you’re not going to change anything!” the lady snapped at Gayeon. “You and this one…” she pointed at Junmyeon. “Both are on the same boat. One falls for a maid and the other falls for an exile.”

“OMMA!” Gayeon hissed, horrified as the mentioned ‘exile’ was right in front of them. She jerked her head towards the front yard, gesturing towards baekhyun.

And that’s when her mother and brother noticed the visitor.

The lady closed her lips tight, and Junmyeon cleared his throat before speaking up. “What brings you here, Byun Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun forced a slight smile on himself, trying to avid the pang he felt inside hearing Gayeon’s mother’s choice of words. “Greetings, Lord Kim, and My Lady.” he bowed to them. “I’m here to officially ask for Lady Gayeon’s hand.” he straightened up, and looked directly at Gayeon’s mother’s eyes. “Because I’m not an exile anymore.”

There was a silence.

Junmyeon looked less flustered than his mother, as the lady was red with rage. But the two of them took too long to come up with any kind of response, so Gayeon ran down the front steps to stand beside baekhyun. She put her hand through his, and held him at his elbow, and looked up at her mother. “Omma, let us get married. Please?”

The lady clenched her fists at the sides of her skirts, and looked at all three young faces watching her. “I can’t believe how all of you act like you have forgotten the past. I’m so disappointed in both of you…” she glared at Gayeon, and shot a piercing stare at Junmyeon as well. “Do whatever you won’t! Since none of you will listen to me anyway.”

And she stormed into the house, to slam the front door behind her.

Baekhyun released the breath he had been holding. Junmyeon cleared his throat again, and stepped down to the front yard. “Did the ROyal Order arrive at your house?”

“It did.” Baekhyun replied with a slight bow. The Byun family had entered the capital a few days after Baekhyun had regained consciousness, and they had received the King’s order two days later, stating that the Late Lord Byun is to be cleared from all treachery accusations, the Byun family is to be reinstated in their nobility, and the late Lord Byun’s title was passed down to Baekhyun. The dispersed servants returned to the mansion in no time, and life quickly returned back to normal for them, except for the absence of their father. “Thank you for all the hardships you went through for this.” Baekhyun added.

“It was not for you.” Junmyeon replied, forcing out his most monotonous voice. “It was for my sister. Because I know she’s not letting you go.”

Baekhyun smiled, feeling Gayeon's fingers entwine through his at the meantime. “I see that you’re also having a hard time, My Lord.”

Junmyeon gave a small smile in reply. “Nothing compared to what you have gone through though.”

“What will you do oppa?” gayeon asked in concern. “You might argue, but Hyunjoo’s states is really a problem when it comes to marriage.”

“I know.” Junmyeon sighed, straightening his hat. “And I’m going to solve it. Just be on my side when I bring her home later on.” he flashed her a smile and headed towards the gate.

“What about my request, Lord Kim?”

Baekhyun called after junmyeon, which made the latter halt and whirl around with a brow raised. “Your request?”

“Do we get your blessing?” Baekhyun asked. “I came here to ask for your sister’s hand.”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice.” Junmyeon shrugs, and points at the two entwined hands. “Because you already have her hand.”

And with that, he carefreely made his way out of the gate.

Baekhyun turned to Gayeon in disbelief. “It’s nothing like I planned.”

“Did anything go according to plan for us baekhyun?” gayeon asked with a grin. “I thought messing things up was your specialty.”

Baekhyun smirked, and gave a worried glance at the closed front door. “But what about your mother? It’s not a good thing that she’s being troubled by both her children.”

“She’s not as tough as she pretends to be.” gayeon reassured him. “It’s just she’s a bit flustered with everything that has been going on. Her daughter was kidnapped, or you can say that I practically ran away, because I chose to be with you. After that when she thought her son was working hard on bringing her daughter back, she caught him together with her daughter’s maid. That’s not a little for a pampered noble lady to go through.”

Nodded thoughtfully. “So it’s just up to me then.” he squared his shoulder.

“What’s up to you?”

“To show her that I’m worth becoming her son-in-law.”

“And how would you do that? Master Baekhyun? Ah, no I mean, Lord Byun?”

“FIrst I have to pass the military exam, of course.”

* * *

“BAEKHYUN HYUNG!!!”

It wasn’t easy to be hugged by five fully grown men at the same time. Baekhyun had to p