A pull of their hearts for each other amidst their chaos. 

∞

11:18 pm 

The night continued with the loud thunder and lightning; the shade of dark was still intact like the light of flames turned into the aches of darkness but the rain was yet to descend its heavy pour over the brightening Seoul. 

This yet to be pouring rain had brought an execution of a loss yet something within it. 

Something to be in another light soon. 

The familiar footfalls of the pair emerged together towards the particular penthouse; a house but a home within yet to be realized, and the entrance door opened, as Iseul walked through with a disturbed frown on her face while taking off her jacket as her jaw hardened at the memory of the burning building in front of her eyes; the sole evidence or file was destroyed which was almost in their hold. 

She was losing it; the one which could have been a solid way to her father's death's reason. 

She lost it and nothing afterwards for the option was coming into her mind; she felt enraged as her hands fisted tightly. 

Her attention was torn as she heard the shuffle behind her as she looked over her shoulder to find her husband, Baekhyun, taking off his jacket with the deepened frown of disturbance as he ran his fingers through his silver hair in a mess of his thoughts; she could understand because both of them were going through the same disturbance of the happenings and Baekhyun met his wife's eyes in a glance yet could understand her inner thoughts of having the same feeling of another loss snatched before their eyes, and hold. 

And they couldn't do anything but just watch it together; how things had happened before. 

But the difference was that this time they couldn't give it up because of the circumstances; they had passed that phase now. 

They were in this together; they will do everything for the darkness to be in a light together. 

At the moment, Iseul's phone pinged, and she was quick to fish it out; she looked back at Baekhyun again. “It's Se-Ju.”

Baekhyun was quick to follow her to the kitchen; his system surely did a flip even at the crucial moment of her sliding her hairband off from her ponytail as her hair laid on her right shoulder where Iseul placed her phone on the counter with the speaker on, “Did you get anything from him?” She asked, approaching the fridge as she took out the bottle of water, and her mug from the cabinet while her hairband displayed on her wrist. 

“I asked Kang Dong-chan; apparently he was asked by the anonymous person before us about the file.”

Baekhyun and Iseul exchanged a glance; somehow they predicted this, and Baekhyun leaned his front to the counter while his hands on it as he his lips, “He might be the intruder; did he give his number?” 

“I believe it is an intruder in the station; the number I tried is from my police station.”

Iseul immediately stood beside Baekhyun as she thud the bottle on the counter along with her mug. “Can you check who it is?” 

“Unfortunately no, this one phone is available for everyone; the intruder is sharper than we think of him.”

Iseul held the bottle tight almost crumbling it, as she felt another heat of enrage while her other hand fisted on the counter to calm herself down before she felt the bottle from her hold being snatched as her eyes glanced to find Baekhyun opening the cap to pour it into her mug as the remaining water was being gulped by him in a way Iseul could tell he was annoyed, and enraged by this information like her. 

“I don't understand one thing,” Iseul trailed off, taking a sip of the cold water; somehow calming her heated rage, “How come the intruder didn't know about the farmhouse until now or were they waiting for our actions?” 

“The intruder is a man; Kang Dong-chan confirmed it, and he also testified that the intruder wasn't aware of the farmhouse either but because Kang Dong-chan wasn't around so he couldn't ask him until his contact info was traced, and he was offered a high pay with another offer to send him away from this country in an exchange of his information about the farmhouse; the reason of his visit was to get his passport.”

“Money really is attractive.”

This time it was Iseul to utter those words; her husband beside her surely was surprised but held his ground as he watched her biting her lips while sipping his water to utter his own words. “Lousy as always.”

“What are we going to do now?” 

“At this moment, I can't say anything, Iseul.”

“We are being warned.”

Baekhyun concluded, his fingers drumming on the counter with a focused frown, and Iseul turned to him for his continuation as he took another sip of water. “Choi Myung-Soo warned me; the fact that he mentioned Iseul,” He trailed off, meeting Iseul's eyes and his concentration deepened, “I believe he was aware of us being known to each other before the fashion show night.”

“He could've; you were a known person to him through your father and Iseul was his business partner.”

“But Kang-min wasn't.” Baekhyun stated, as he brushed his fingers through his hair. “He was questioning Kang-min about his family; he isn't related to him unless he knew he was Lee Eunbi's nephew.”

“The fact that he was talking about coincidences during lunch felt weird to me but I am getting it now.”

Iseul was taking her husband's point as she was reminded of that moment; Choi Myung-Soo was being awfully strange during lunch, and during the event night, “It could have been that the intruder wasn't much closer to Choi Myung-Soo; if he was, the building would have been burned a long ago and this might be their warning to stop our investigation.”

Baekhyun nodded at her; again, wasn't surprised at her catching things up to his thoughts yet was impressed by his wife but he still couldn't get one thing; he had seen Hwang Oh-Seong and Choi Myung-Soo greeting each other once, it might be him, but if they were this close, how come Hwang Oh-Seong wasn't aware of the farmhouse? 

Was his instinct wrong?

Or was Hwang Oh-Seong not very close to Choi Myung-Soo? 

The fact that he wanted to ask his wife but was contemplating being attacked by her. 

“If it were a warning; they could've tried to harm one of us?” 

Baekhyun's attention was back to Se-Ju's question and he hummed in a ponder. “Or it was a first warning; no harm but if tried again, could be harming.”

“But we can't stop.”

Baekhyun frowned at his wife. “Do you think before speaking, sweetheart?” 

“Do you think otherwise, darling?” 

His frown eased. “No.”

“Alright, we'll meet up soon; let's carry on with the conversation again.”

The man probably got the cue of their unstoppable banter and he wasn't attentive enough to be a part of it at the moment, and hang up immediately. 

A silence fallen through for a moment, as Iseul turned around, leaning her back against the counter while continuing to drink her water drowning in her deep thoughts, and Baekhyun glanced at her before turning around to lean his back against the counter beside her like their jackets placed on the kitchen stool beside each other; his hand leaned on the counter behind her back that played with the cap of the bottle in a flipping manner with his fingers while continuing to take sips silently. 

There was a silence again; somehow tensioning but it wasn't uncomfortable. 

A sudden sound of thunder erupted through the silence; a flinch of her heart, as Iseul leaned back a little more to feel Baekhyun's arm to her back, and his system reacted to her warmth, Baekhyun instantly tilted his head to her side downwards as his actions of playing with the cap halted for the thing to roll out of his hold, where Iseul met his intent eyes with a hammering heart as her grip on her mug tightened at the proximity. 

Yet the proximity held them erected to be stepped back from it or it was their familiar lost emotions towards each other in the yearn to be found; it was probably them. 

His warmth fanned against her forehead as her eyes glanced at his lips with a reminder of how it felt warm against her skin during the time of the incident in the storage room in her discomforting moment of his words being her comfort with a familiarity, and his heart hammered at her actions as he gulped, to find her eyes in an intent stare until she realized her doings to turn away with a warmth in her system but his eyes held her right side-profile in a deep stare of his intent intensity, and curiosity as he stared at the scar on her temple to get the flash of her scar on her right shoulder with a clench of his heart. 

Another thunder and the sound of rapid pour of rain erupted through the open balcony door as a storming sound of pitter-patter echoed between their silence. 

The despising rain of their discomforting memories happened again. 

Yet this time, it was oddly less, lesser than before, something felt shifted within it, but it was still there for the pair to be reminded of the discomforting memories after the loss of another execution of their purpose was making it harder to forget about it. 

Baekhyun's phone rang through the silence; he cleared his throat, fishing out his phone to answer Kang-min's call, but surprisingly to his system, he heard a familiar woman's voice behind it. 

“Where is Iseul?”

“Where is Kang-min, Madre?” 

“I asked first.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I should be answered first.”

Iseul turned to her husband with a weird stare as she took another sip of her water before he met her eyes with a blink. “My wife is right beside me.”

“What is she doing beside you?” 

“Whatever you're thinking about.”

Baekhyun smirked at her pitching tone of a question for his answer to be suggestive where his eyes couldn't help but held an amusement at Iseul's deep confusion in her eyes; somehow winsome, until his eyes rolled at her reply. 

“She'd rather kill you.”

“Yeah; she's picturing me lying ily in the coffin nowadays, so that might count.”

Baekhyun bit his lip to prevent himself from the smile threatening at his wife's deadpan expression of a glare; the next second, his phone was snatched as it was in her hold for Baekhyun to give her a look, but Iseul ignored him to talk. “Eun? Why are you talking from Kang-min's phone?” 

Baekhyun pushed his head closer to Iseul to listen to their conversation for Iseul to lean away with a narrowed look. “What?” 

“It's my phone; I want to listen.”

“It's not music and I need privacy to talk to my friend.” Iseul faced the counter but Baekhyun stood still with his hand in front of her on the counter with a scoff. “You both need privacy by snatching our phones? Fantastic.”

“I need it, so fantastically, leave me alone.”

Iseul shooed him by waving her hand off outside but her darling stubborn husband stood still as she huffed. “Seriously?” 

“Yeah.”

“Tell me when you both are done; I will charge my phone till then.”

Ji-eun's voice was loud; Iseul and Baekhyun heard it clearly and Iseul was about to answer her while glaring at her husband but he took her by surprise at his sudden action of leaning in closer; his eyes held hers deeply as his head stopped just a mere inches from hers as their nose brushed, and her lips parted at the moment to find him tilting his head as he uttered his words without tearing his eyes off from hers. 

“Tell your friend to stop finding ways to pick fights with me, Madre.”

Iseul held her breath at his fanning warmth against her lips; his faint cologne hitting her in an enchantment, while her system warming up enough to find it unbearable as the next minute, she palmed the left side of his chest to feel it hammering fast against her hand to push him back with her narrowed eyes. 

“As if you're any better; stay in your limits.”

“Nah.”

Iseul closed her eyes with a huff; Baekhyun pressed his lips with a hint of a smile, as he found her turning away so he was looking at her back, and her nape as her hair was still on her shoulder of her black fitted shirt, somehow threatening, but he was feeling relieved that only he was the one that could see her this sight where his eyes traced to her back, with a thought of her wound from this morning and again, to the particular stitched scar. 

Stitched scar; means could have been an accident, and hospital, is that the reason for her dislikes toward it? 

But how did it happen? Who did it? He was madly furious, and dying in curiosity to be aware of it. 

What had happened behind his back to her after he left everything?

Why was there a regret and guilt for it? 

“Your phone died and Kang-min reached your house in concern?” 

He heard Iseul's surprising tone and his own system was astonished by her words as he leaned closer; Iseul felt his warmth with a thud behind her chest as her side was leaning against the counter before she turned her head to find him utterly curious about their conversation for Iseul to mouth ‘what?’ and he mouthed back ‘I want to listen’. 

“Yeah; I was coming back from the family dinner while dad dropped me because it was almost raining heavily and keeping the surveillance on in my phone for hours got my battery dead; Kang-min called in that moment when I reached but got cut off and he got worried and reached out to check up on me.”

“He never did it for me.”

Baekhyun spoke; Iseul shot him a look for him to shrug as he reached out to the cap a bit further from his reach where Iseul felt his arm grazing hers in a brush to feel a waver through her system as she met his eyes in a glance to look away with a gulp yet his eyes could be felt like a strong electrifying warmth. 

“Kang-min is saying that he ruined his sleep when you and Iseul crashed together.”

“Tell him to meet me tomorrow.”

Iseul leaned away with a glare at him; his eyes held a nonchalance yet amusement, damn this scum darling husband was enjoying giving her hard time as she pushed him back with her elbow to his stomach for Baekhyun to hold his stomach with a narrowed look until Iseul questioned Ji-eun back. 

“How was dinner; was uncle fine with you?” 

Before Iseul could have heard Ji-eun's answer; Baekhyun leaned his head again to the phone with his own question. 

“How did you manage to go through the surveillance during the dinner?”

“Are you seriously curious about this?” 

Iseul gave him a weird stare and Baekhyun nodded; he was rounding his question to ask about Hwang Oh-Seong's indirect whereabouts to see if he was the intruder or not? 

“Yeah; dad was with us throughout the dinner though he kept switching to his study room back and forth, but I did feel surprised by him suddenly dropping me home which he barely does.”

Baekhyun was silent; adapting to her words, as he couldn't help but feel intriguing into it, as his fingers on the counter drummed like his mind going through a chaos of his intrusive thoughts unaware of Iseul acknowledging his actions with a known familiarity as she tilted her head to him to find him lost in his thoughts while looking somewhere in the space and a strange feeling rushed through at his actions of his questions; nothing new yet felt the familiar trouble within. 

“By the way, are you alright, smarty?”

Iseul's attention was back to Ji-eun with a confused frown, “Yeah, why?” She paused, feeling her husband's eyes on her as her chest warmed again until she heard Ji-eun's words. “I heard an accident happened there in the storage room; I meant, the shelves, are you okay?” 

Iseul blinked; known as to why Ji-eun was concerned, and she still couldn't get the dreading moment out of her mind since the morning, yet somehow, she was getting distracted by the man standing beside her; still keeping his silent, yet deep eyes on her and before she could have answered, her system jolted at his sudden lean of his figure sideways since he still had his back against the counter beside her while she had her front leaning against it. 

“She's alright.”

Amidst the swirling warmth in her cheeks by his actions; she threw him a glare at his close proximity face. “Are you my interpreter? I can answer for myself.”

“I'm your husband,” Baekhyun's one eyebrow raised at her with a tilt of his head. “Sweetheart.”

“Good for you,” Iseul nodded, appearing stoic yet her heart hammered at his deep tone, and his sudden actions, “Now keep your husband right outside of the kitchen,” She paused, pointing outside with her eyes to meet his eyes with a sass. “Darling.”

Baekhyun made a face as rolling his eyes with a sass; his steps began to walk away as Iseul kept her eyes on his retreating figure until he was out of her sight, and a deep breath left her lips at the sudden happenings; the moments from the morning, him seeing her scars, and his questions, and his glimpses; his eyes holding vulnerability and sorrows for it. 

She was in a turmoil of his sudden actions; his given enmity didn't feel like it anymore and it was confusing her as well as frustrating her for being so drawn towards it; him. 

“Are you hurt somewhere?” 

“Not really,” Iseul paused with a flinch at the thunder sound, and the storming pour getting louder followed by the breeze through the balcony as she arched her back with a silent wince at the gone pain striking into her system again. “I just got a little graze behind my back but I'm fine.”

“You call it fine?” 

Iseul's heart softened at Ji-eun's worried tone as her fingers begin to play with cap of the bottle, “Really, I'm alright; I was scared that time because it flashed that moment again but,” Her eyes went in a trance like her mind at how her first instinct was to save Baekhyun, and how he had held her safely until she felt alright and her heart felt the thud behind her chest at the moment, and her palm was quick to hold her chest with a gulp. “Something is wrong with me nowadays.”

“What's wrong?” 

“I don't know; it's all his fault.”

Iseul bit her lip in frustration; her mind was getting messed up because of his unstoppable glimpses, his teary sorrowful eyes from that night, and from nine years ago, where her eyes glanced at the sink of the kitchen to flash another glimpse of theirs during the water clash, and how it ended up them being in each other's arms with a searing tension, and Iseul turned away with a hammering heart of her heated up cheeks as her eyes closed; her lips in a biting session harshly. 

“I guess, your husband is taking care of you.”

Iseul's eyes opened in a jolt. “What?” 

She heard Ji-eun's chuckle, “You can figure it out,” She trailed off, sighing, “You're a smart woman, Iseul; whatever is bothering you, be it your emotions or mind, you will figure it out and I hope you do it.”

Iseul heard her attentively; quick enough to get where her words were being pointed at, and a sigh left her lips. “I hope so.” Iseul frowned afterwards. “You're awfully silent, is everything okay?” 

“Yeah; I'm just gonna have ramen with Kang-min.”

Iseul felt a pause before her answer; she felt something was wrong but shrugged it off considering that Ji-eun would tell her like she does before her eyebrows raised in amusement. 

“Not even fried chicken but ramen?” 

“Shut it, Iseul.”

Iseul held back her smile as the next minute Ji-eun hang up and the moment, Iseul pushed away Baekhyun's phone, another thunder erupted, but this time, the light was out, and Iseul flinched, as the darkness engulfed her as before her heart and mind could go in the anxious chaos, she had the torchlight on of his phone yet her juggling mind had got her husband's glimpse as she turned around with her lips parting to call out his name. 

“Baek-” 

Yet halted her words; he was standing right in front of her and the silver light dimming around the kitchen had shone him in her hidden worrisome eyes, and her heart felt a sense of calm, as her eyes met his intent ones silently where Baekhyun had his eyes boring into hers deeply unable to ignore the way his heart hammered for her because of the sudden darkness; his anxious mind, and heart felt the familiar concern, and before he knew it, he was already standing in front of her; closer. 

Their hands on the counter in proximity; their eyes in a deep stare under the silver light dimming their donned figures like how their silhouettes were in a merge in the darkness through the light together. 

The sound of rain continued to pour; a bit despising yet not. 

“You called?” 

Iseul couldn't answer his soft words against the hammering loud rain; his steps closer to her visage without tearing his eyes from hers as his fingers brushed through hers on the counter to feel her radiating warmth against him until her figure was towered by him, and his heart hammered against his chest, as his eyes traced her features under the donning light in an utmost shine to behold, and to his disturbance, the storming breeze brushed past, where he found her eyes squinting at her tresses winding through her eyes in a disturbing manner. 

Iseul almost reached out to tuck her hair away; his warmth close to her should have her step back like his fingers through hers on the counter yet she couldn't, as if something held her back, like how his eyes had been holding hers in a profound bore to be torn as her chest warmed under his gaze and as her hand reached to her neck, she felt his hand reaching up to her; her heartbeat quickened, yet she stood still, and the next second, she felt his fingers against her skin of her right temple in a soft manner for her hand in the air to be tightened in a squeeze. 

The sound of rain still echoed throughout against their hammering and warming silence but with the rhythm of the pitter-patter. 

Baekhyun found her eyes closing the moment he brushed her strands from her eyes as it brushed her cheek, to the corner of her lips, and his eyes traced the actions slowly yet in a deep stare of an electrifying intensity and Iseul felt his fingers against her cheek to open her eyes to find him closer; his head hovering over hers, and his fingers brushing her strand away from the corner of her lips. 

His thumb against her lips and her lips parted at the warmth of his skin. 

Her eyes looked up at him behind her warming cheeks, and system; how come she wasn't able to step back? 

She should be yet she wasn't; his actions and his glimpses had her in a turmoil, and she couldn't find the urge to step back as if there was an invisible tug pulling her towards him. 

She swallowed her dry throat at the wavering feeling through her system at his actions of tracing his thumb against her chin to meet her eyes; her system felt a warming chill and her fingers against his on the counter stiffened. 

Baekhyun felt a warming thud behind his chest; her actions had him look into her eyes, and he felt like drowning into them again, something was in it, something profound, and something hidden yet it was enchanting like how the donning light shone in her eyes and under the donning light was Iseul in a sight to behold in a mesmerize. 

How he felt the urge to drown into her eyes; be closer to her. 

It was opposite of his mind pledges; he wasn't supposed to be this close to her yet he couldn't find the urge to step back. 

The more he was trying; the more he was finding himself closer to her. 

As right now she was closer; her warmth, and her intoxicating fragrance of white roses had him drown in as without his awareness, his forehead was almost against hers to feel her fanning warmth against his chin in a rapid manner of his heart as he gulped, and Iseul's breath hitched, he was holding her face in a hold like his thumb under her chin, and his fingers against her jawline, as his finger brushed her earlobe to feel the tingles through behind his fanning warmth against her lips yet soothing to be in an urge to lean into. 

Their eyes still in a hold of their drowning stare behind the thundering pour of rain under the donning light. 

A pull of their hearts for each other amidst their chaos; the one happening in the darkness with the persisting light like it was meant to be. 

All of a sudden, the brightening light was on, and a jolt of their hearts as if becoming aware of the surroundings, and their proximity of their tugging moment as Iseul immediately retreated with a step yet her fingers interlocked with his on the counter couldn't be detached by his force while her heart still hammering behind her chest; warm, and fuzzy, like her cheeks as she could still feel his warm touch on her skin, as she swallowed, before meeting his eyes to find him already staring her in an intently deep stare, as if a confusion, as if something was going on in his mind. 

“I have a question.”

Baekhyun questioned; his messed up mind tracing his questions again of her odd actions against her pledges to him of their enmity as maybe, after getting answered, he might be able to push past his messed up thoughts, and his actions of being tugged towards her as he shouldn't be since he could still feel his heart in a hammering and warming session while feeling the unpleasant at her distance. 

“I have nothing to answer.”

His eyes seeped a nervousness through her; she tried to detach her fingers through his only for him to lift their hands up by their side with a tighten of his fingers through hers, like her palm pressed against his in a hold and a warm tingle through her system as her eyes immediately narrowed at his actions to find his eyes in a deep yet assertive glint towards her. 

“What do you think you're doing?” 

“Like I said,” His frown deepened; donning in a beholding contrast to his silver hair under the silver light. “I have questions, sweetheart.”

“I'm not-” 

Her words were interrupted by his sudden pull of her figure against him; her front against his sturdy chest, and his hand holding the curve of her waist in a h