Baekhyun tosses around in bed, careful enough not to disturb Haeun that is sleeping beside him. The toddler refused to sleep in her baby cot for some reason and Baekhyun was too tired to argue with the little one and he just let her do what she wanted.

He lies down on his side, quietly watching his baby girl. You are my world… Byun Haeun.

He is having trouble sleeping after being reminded of what happened at the swimming pool, the scene repeating inside his head like a broken record.

“I missed you so much”

“W-What are you doing?” Baekhyun pushes the taller away after his mind finally registered that he was in his ex-fiance’s embrace.

“I was so angry,” Chanyeol starts. “I was so ing angry that I didn’t sleep for days thinking about what did I do that made you leave me— thinking about what my fault is. I hated you so much. I was going mad because no matter how much I looked for you, you weren’t there in my arms at the end of the day. But today, I realised it was stupid of me to believe what you wrote in that letter. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t love you anymore?’” Chanyeol snickers, and shakes his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe for the past two years, I fell for that. Just look at you now, you can’t even look at me in the eyes. Don’t lie to me, Baekhyun Pongsatorn— or should I call you Baekhyun Hyun? I know you better than anyone else. You wouldn’t hurt me intentionally, heck, you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I—”

“I slowly try to learn to let you go over the years, it was so hard for me, Baekhyun. But, I would’ve still let you go, no matter how long it will take for me to heal. If you truly don’t love me anymore, I will go. I love you so ing much that I’m willing to let you go as long as you’re happy but, look where we are? Fate is amazing, don’t you think so?” Chanyeol fumes, his chest heaving up and down in suppressed anger. “You ran away from me, but still life brought you back to me, closer than before.”

“I don’t understan—”

“I know you still feel the same way, Baekhyun. You can push me away all you want, I know that heart still beats for me, or else you wouldn’t be acting like this.”

“I will discover the truth one day, Baekhyun, the reason you left, I will uncover it all. Two years ago, I know that wasn’t you. I’m sure that wasn’t you. Now that you’re here, I’m never letting you go again, never.”

“I didn’t lie! W-What I wrote in the letter is all t-true. Our relationship wasn’t working out a-anymore. I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologises, pulling his head down to hide his face from the latter.

Chanyeol forcefully pulls his chin up, albeit still gently and smirks at the sight of red-tainted cheeks. Baekhyun pulls his eyes away from looking at the taller.

“Say that when you stop stuttering and can look at me in the eyes, cutie,” he pats the smaller on the cheeks and strides back into the house.

Baekhyun stands there, dumbfounded.

Baekhyun shudders at the sudden hit of cold wind from the air-conditioner. He pulls the comforter tighter around him and Haeun, shielding her from the cool air.

All of sudden, he bursts out into sobs. He closes his eyes and just cries his heart out.

Why is Chanyeol reacting that way? Why isn’t he angry?

Why? Just why?

Others would go bat crazy after being left behind by their fiance— especially with nothing but just a mere note.

Not even a proper goodbye or explanation.

So why?

He would be so much happier if Chanyeol is angry at him instead of acting that way. It makes his stomach churn in distaste— the guilt is eating him alive.

Baekhyun bites his lips tightly, wanting to conceal the sounds as much as possible, afraid of interrupting Haeun’s sleep.

He sniffles and finally opens his eyes— only to be greeted by a pair of doe eyes watching him intently.

Haeun scoots closer and Baekhyun opens his arms to engulf her in his embrace. He kisses her head, long, before loosening his hold on her.

“Pa— papa don’t cry… Eunnie is here…” the little voice speaks up.

Haeun turns to her side and grabs her favourite blankie. She cannot go to sleep without her blankie.

She brings it closer and puts it right onto her papa’s face, then starts dabbing his tears away.

Baekhyun grimaces when the little fists keep on hitting him in the eye but smiles so brightly at the gesture. “Thank you, princess. Papa is feeling much better now.”

Haeun pulls the blanket away and leans closer to examine her papa’s face, looking for any sign of tears. Perhaps her papa is hiding the tears from her instead?

When she realises that Baekhyun’s face is indeed dry from any sign of tears— although a little red, she leans back onto the pillow in relief.

Slowly, her eyelids start to flutter, succumbing into dreamland, though, her tiny hands still move up and down to pat her papa on his arms, as if consoling.

Baekhyun presses a kiss onto her forehead and before darkness consumes him, he remembers saying that he will protect Haeun from anything in the world.

She is his world.

His precious daughter, Haeun.

Chanyeol takes big strides down the stairs, skipping two stairs each and moves quickly to the office situated on the first floor.

Damn it! Why must grandpa’s house be so big?

He needs to get to his grandpa as fast as possible.

Once in front of the huge door, he takes a deep breath and knocks twice. After hearing his grandfather respond, he opens the door and goes straight to sit in front of Grandpa Park.

“I’m sure you know why I’m here, grandpa.”

“I might be old, but I am nowhere near dense, child,” Grandpa Park says, he presses on the small button on the side of his table and calls for the maid.

Once telling her to make a hot earl grey tea for him and a glass of milk tea for his grandson, Grandpa leans on his chair and stares at the fidgeting male.

“What is this about, Chanyeol? Do you know Hyun? My workers told me that you two were together at the pool before dinner and Hyun didn’t come down for dinner, he has never done that before.”

“— Baekhyun. I know him as Byun Baekhyun, that is his full name… it’s Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says heavily.

“Baekhyun?” When he looks at his grandson’s exasperated face, it finally clicks why the name sounded so familiar when he was handed the resume by the petite male.

“Yes… Baekhyun. My ex-fiance .”

Grandpa Park sits up from his seat, surprise evident on his face. He massages his chin and shakes his head in disbelief.

“The one that ran away?”

“ Yes .” Chanyeol retorts sharply. He closes his eyes and his chest heaves up and down, containing his emotion from exploding.

The one that ran away.

Yes.

That’s the perfect way to describe it.

No matter how hard it was from him to swallow. That was really the reality.

He was left alone one night without a mere goodbye— just a stupid note saying;

I’m sorry I don’t love you anymore.

Grandpa Park takes a seat back into his chair and he massages his temple. He had no idea how Chanyeol’s fiance looked like.

What are the odds that out of all the Baekhyuns in South Korea, the one who he decided to hire is none other than his grandson’s ex-fiance?

Chanyeol and his fiance were supposed to visit him in Australia.

He remembers Chanyeol telling him that the trip to the country of koalas and kangaroos was supposed to be a surprise gift for his fiance’s birthday.

But unfortunately, a month before his fiance’s birthday.

Chanyeol was left behind, alone.

He remembers how hard it was for his grandson, for the video call they had a week after his fiance’s left, Chanyeol on the screen wasn’t looking humane at all.

His grandson was miserable.

“Life works in a funny way indeed, child…”

“... Yes, it does,” Chanyeol answers, bitterness evident in his tone. “Is Haeun his daughter?”

“Hyun told me that Haeun is his daughter… I never properly asked. Is he a potential carrier?”

“I-I don’t know too…” Chanyeol pulls his head down, just realising how ignorant and terrible he was as Baekhyun’s fiance.

“He doesn’t have any siblings, and his parents passed away when he was young. He’s lived in the orphanage since he was five. All of his friends are mine too. Is Haeun really mine?” he continues.

“I cannot answer that for you, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol stares at his fingers blankly. Why didn’t he think that Baekhyun might be a carrier before his grandpa asked him?

Some men have the ability to reproduce and they’re called carriers.

They are rare, but not uncommon.

Chanyeol shakes his head. Baekhyun wouldn’t leave him if he was carrying their daughter.

It doesn’t make any sense.

“How did you come to employ him, grandpa?”

“He’s a nice kid, Chanyeol. He helped me when no one else did.”

Grandpa Park sat down on the bench after he started feeling faint from standing too long.

Suddenly, as he was taking his rest, the rain started pouring so hard that Grandpa Park didn’t get the chance to move away.

Everyone around him at the park was running away, taking shelter from the wet and Grandpa Park was left alone on the bench, soaking wet from head to toe.

His vision began to get blurred and his head felt heavy. He tried to keep his eyes open but cannot seem to be able to before he heard a panic voice calling and then an umbrella was placed above his head to shield him from the rain.

“Mister! Are you okay?” a young man asks with a baby safely strapped on his chest.

“My h-head feels a l-little h-heavy, child,” he hardly mutters. “Can you get the phone from the back pocket of my backpack and ring the first dial?”

“Yes, yes, sure!” the young man says, pitch higher than usual from the panic. He goes behind the old man and rummages through the bag, facing difficulties as he has to hold the umbrella above them.

Thank god that he decided to bring an umbrella today.

He was so surprised to see an old man sitting alone on the bench, looking like he was a second away from collapsing!

“Hello?! I am calling because I found the owner of the phone sitting alone at the park and he is drenched from head-to-toe! His condition doesn’t look so good, can you come and pick him up as soon as possible? I think we have to bring him to the hospital!” the young man says urgently as soon as the call was picked up.

“Yes, yes! We’re at Hangang Park! Please come faster, thank you!”

He then holds the phone in his hands and stands beside the older man, his hand tightly gripping the umbrella.

Surprisingly, the baby in his hold, as if understanding the urgency, didn’t act much. She just stares at the two with her wide doe eyes before falling asleep to the sound of rain.

“Mister, please hold on a little, help will come soon!”

The young man anxiously looks left and right. Perhaps there is someone nearby that can help?

He frowns when he sees that the park is void of anyone else except them. It’s acceptable since it was starting to get dark soon.

His face lights up when he sees a man in a suit scanning the park from afar. It seems like help is finally here!

“Mister— mister! Here! We’re here!” the young man practically leaps from the bench and waves his hand frantically. His smile gets brighter when he sees that the latter has finally spotted them.

The man in suit jogs to them with an umbrella in his hold.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know either! I found him drenched— wait, there’s no time to explain! We need to take him to the hospital right now!”

The man, who is not that much taller than him, realises, quickly gets to the old man’s side and helps him get up. He