Changmin agrees to be her pseudo-boyfriend, as long as she promises not to meet with her previous boyfriend again. Victoria understands why he’s doing this—he’s best friends with her brother and he’s pressured by their overprotective and controlling mothers.

A small part of her wants to say that maybe he cares about her, but the thought is quickly scrapped away.

“You followed me that day, didn’t you?” She agonizes him.

He sits on a rocking chair near her bed; one leg perched over the other as he flips through her all time favorite book. “I was in the area.”

“Right.” Victoria drawled. “It was Kyuhyun, wasn’t it?”

“He was worried.” Changmin shrugs, and then reiterates. “And I was in the area.”

Victoria bobs her head from side to side, playing with one of her headphones as the other rests comfortably in her ear. The bed is soft and different from what she’s been used to the past few years. “You and Kyuhyun are close.”

“We are.” Changmin affirms.

The girl smirks. “How long?”

“How long what?” Changmin asks.

She just shakes her head and laughs, returning to playing with the iPod in her hands. “Did you know that I ended up going home with a stranger that night?”

Changmin sits upright in his seat. “What? But I—“

“Don’t worry. Nothing happened. He was a nice guy.” Victoria tells him. Changmin looks at her suspiciously. “What?” She frowns at him. “It’s true.”

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, eyes laid upon her intently.

She feels a shiver roll down her spine. “What?”

“You’ve been secretly meeting with your ex. Your mom has men following you, did you know that? I didn’t know whether or not I should tell you, but I think you should know. If you continue seeing him, he’ll only keep hurting you, Victoria.”

Victoria looks away. Subconsciously, her eyes wander down to her covered arms, hidden under a thick layer of clothing. She can see the pattern of a mark there through the cloth with her mind’s eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re stupid.” Changmin says. “There’s so much better out there, but no, you have to be stupid.”

She looks at him, stubbornly stern. “You don’t know what it’s like to be afraid of letting go of the only thing keeping you from hitting the ground and disappearing beneath the rock and dirt.”

“Don’t I?” He asks.

“You don’t.” She says, but her eyes flutter to the window, remembering the warm sunlight that once warmed her skin in a room she did not recognize; the voice that comforted and took care of her; the man that she did not know. “You don’t. Not like I do.”

Changmin remains silent.

“Let me tell you a secret, Changmin.” Victoria lulls, gripping the earpiece in her palm. Slowly, he sees her lift a hand to her abdomen, sitting it just over her stomach. “You can keep secrets, right?”

“Song Qian.” He reprimands, eyes firm. “It’s not what I think it is, is it?”

Victoria smiles and her eyes are bright. “If you promise to keep my secret, I’ll keep yours.”

“I don’t—“

“Kyuhyun is a good kid,” Victoria slants her head to one side. “He’ll be happy with you, as long as my mother never discovers the truth.”

He narrows his eyes but he finds that he can’t be truly angry at her. “You’re threatening me?”

“I’m asking you.” She corrects him.

Changmin bites on the inside of his cheek, scowling. He sets his book down on the corner of her bed. “How far along are you? Does he know?”

“He doesn’t, and I don’t think I want him to know.”

Seeing the expression on her face, Changmin decides not to question her any further. Instead, he walks over and sits down beside her on the bed, pulling her into his arms. “It must be hard on you,” he whispers against her hair. “It’s alright, you don’t have to do this alone.”

And, for whatever reason, Victoria feels secure in his arms. She buries her face in his chest and, for once, allows her tears to spill from her eyes freely. Her fingers clutch the collar of his shirt, biting down hard on her lips.

She’s always wanted someone to tell her that everything would be alright, that it’s okay to be weak and fragile, but instead everyone reprimands her for her decisions.

Changmin seemed to understand.

“What do I do, Changmin?” She asks in a hushed voice. “I’m too young and stupid to be a mother.”

He takes a deep breath, arms stretching around her shoulders. The seconds stretch like hours, silence uncomforting to the both of them. “We’ll pull through this together,” he eventually tells her, and his voice is so gentle it almost melts against her skin. “You aren’t alone.”

Victoria nods. That’s all she can do now; listen to his words and believe in them.

-

“Your sister thinks we’re gay.” Changmin tells Kyuhyun the next time they meet.

Kyuhyun slants his friend a look and scrunches up his nose in disgust. “What? Why—no, ew!”

“Yeah, I know,” Changmin laughs. He slides deeper into his seat at the couch and crosses one leg over the other. “As ridiculous as this will sound, I didn’t exactly deny it.”

“What? Why w—no, what?” Kyuhyun coughs in disbelief.

Changmin throws Kyuhyun an apologetic look. “Well, we kind of got side tracked during our conversation and she may or may not just think we’re actually an item.”

“I thought you liked her?” Kyuhyun asks, “Ever since the time you met her at our high school graduation ceremony?”

His face reddens and he tries to cover it up by running his fingers through his hair. “I feel like she’s more comfortable with me thinking that I’m gay with you.”

“Huh,” Kyuhyun humors him, “funny. I’m pretty sure that’s called lying. Qian doesn’t like liars.”

“Look,” Changmin ignores his latter comment. “I’m thinking about proposing to her.”

Kyuhyun purses his lips. “As her now gay best friend.”

“Yes,” Changmin says, but then catches his tongue and tilts his head. “Well, no, but yes.”

They are both silent for a moment until Kyuhyun bursts out in laughter, reaching over to pat his friend on the shoulder. “You, my friend, are very stupid.”

Changmin gestures as though he’s about to punch Kyuhyun, but Kyuhyun throws his arms up in surrender, a sly smile on his face.

“It’s a good thing,” he interjects, “it means I can trust you with her. You’ll treat her well, right, Changmin-ah? You won’t do her wrong?”

“I will,” Changmin nods in agreement. “I would never do anything to hurt her, Kyuhyun.”

-

Changmin grows the habit of drawing her curtains open every time he visits. He can read better that way, he says, but it’s really just an excuse to expose her to the sunlight she’s been trying to hide from.

She’s hiding from her memories, too.

“The sun looks good on you,” he comments.

Victoria just rolls her eyes and turns her music up a little louder. Changmin laughs then, because he sees her cheeks reddening at his words.

She’s affected by him and that makes him happy. Soon enough, he doesn’t have to open the curtains himself anymore. No one closes them, and no one even realizes this small change in their routine.

-

They become accustomed to each other over the days. Changmin visits her constantly; sometimes before work, sometimes after. There are days when he tells her to visit him, too, when he’s too busy in his office to leave, but she refuses to leave the house anymore when she hits the thirteen week mark of her pregnancy.

“Your stomach is still pretty flat,” Changmin comments, pouring himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen of her house, “Are you sure you’ve got one of those things in there?”

“A baby,” Victoria corrects him. “It’s a baby, Changmin.”

He laughs and hands her a cup of freshly poured milk. “Well, you’re not showing any signs whatsoever. No morning sickness, no peculiar cravings, no baby bump. Maybe you were just lying to me all along.”

“The baby kicks,” Victoria tells him in a hushed voice, rather matter-of-factly. She leans forward, the glass of milk held with both hands as she supports herself with her elbows on the kitchen island counter. “A lot more than usual today.”

“Really?” Changmin asks, eyes widened in surprise. “What does it feel like?”

Victoria purses her lips. “Weird.”

He furrows his brows, unhappy with her description. Weird could have meant a lot of things—it could also mean nothing. “Huh,” he humors as a reply.

“You want to try feeling it?” Victoria asks.

A smile brightens up his face. “Can I?”

“Sure!” Victoria laughs. She reaches over the counter and grabs his hand, pulling him around the island to stand before her. Untying her robe, she slides it off to the side until it’s just her thin, silky pajama one piece on the inside.

Changmin swallows his breath. He tries to retract his hand. “Maybe today is not a g—“

“Oh, don’t be a wuss,” Victoria rolls her eyes.

The other man sighs and gives in, allowing her to lower his palm over her abdomen.

“It’s not kicking yet,” she whispers quietly, “but maybe if I mo—“

“Wait!” Changmin nearly shouts. His fingers tingle at the small wave that just brushed under his palm. “It moved!”

“The baby,” Victoria corrects him again, slapping the back of his arm with a playful frown. “Stop calling my baby an it or a thing!”

Changmin ignores her, trying to follow the direction of the small wave to see if he can catch another movement. The sensation truly was odd, and a little scary to be honest, but it was also really… incredible.

It’s a feeling that Changmin cannot describe, but he likes it.

“I heard babies listen to what us people in the outside world say and learn from it,” Changmin smiles, warm and comforting. “We better watch our mouths from now on.”

Victoria feels her breath catch in her chest, warmth spreading in her cheeks. She nods, releasing Changmin’s hand. In turn, Changmin catches her fingers with his before she returns them to holding her glass of milk.

Their fingers intertwine, her heartbeat bursting at every step he takes closer to her.

“Come with me to my house tomorrow.” He says, more of a demand than a request.

Victoria blinks. “Why?”

“Why do you have so many questions?” Changmin asks in turn, laughing as he tightens his hold on her hand and reaches up to pat the crown of her head with his free one. “Just do as I say.”

Subconsciously, Victoria nods and watches as he leans forward and plants a small kiss on her forehead.

She can feel herself falling, a little too deep, a little too hard.

-

“What is up with you men and feeding me dairy? Don’t you know its fattening?” Victoria groans.

Kyuhyun rolls his eyes and drops into the chair beside his sister’s bed. “It’s good for you and the baby. You both need sufficient calcium intake. Eat it.”

“Well aren’t you sweet?” Victoria teases. She peels the flap off of the yogurt and spoons into the fruity cup. “You don’t have to work today?”

He throws his legs onto her bed and slides lower in his seat, slouching. “I took the day off,” he tells her.

“You? Day off?” Victoria laughs. “My workaholic brother— for me?”

“Changmin forced me.” Kyuhyun replies honestly. “He says you’re almost fourteen weeks but you’re showing no symptoms of pregnancy and it’s horribly worrisome. Changmin asked me to keep an eye on you for today until he picks you up tonight.”

Victoria runs her tongue over her dry lips, forcing a smile. “Is that jealousy I hear in my dear brother’s tone?”

“Psh,” Kyuhyun scoffs, almost choking on his own saliva. “Me? Jealous? Why would I be?”

“Well, because you and Chan—“

He raises a judgmental brow, eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me you actually believe that Changmin and I are gay and dating?”

“You’re not?” Victoria asks.

Kyuhyun sighs helplessly. He reaches over and ruffles his sister’s hair, taking the yogurt from her and setting it aside. “I’ve always teased you by calling you ignorant growing up, but I never meant it until today. If you don’t like yogurt, don’t eat it. If you like Changmin, take him.”

Her eyes trace the yogurt until it’s placed on her nightstand. “How did you—“

“You’re eating yogurt, not herbal medicine. Yogurt is sweet, not bitter. The look on your face always gives you away, Qian. Just like the way you look at Changmin; too fond, too affectionate, and then you force yourself to look away. Why? Because of me?” Kyuhyun asks, bending forward to peer into her eyes at eye level. “Because you think him and I are an item?”

Victoria watches as her brother returns to his seat. “It’s not like that.” She says, a small smile on her red lips, and it’s true, because she was always only teasing Changmin when she mentioned Kyuhyun around him. “I just… I feel like he’s too good for me, Kyuhyun. You’re too good for me. Mom’s too good for me, too. I don’t feel like I belong here, and I’m even impregnated by a man who never loved me—who left me as soon as he was offered something better. I’m too much of a burden; I don’t deserve any of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Kyuhyun says, tone angry and a little harsher than he had intended to come off as. “If you’re still looming over the incident with dad, you can save it. No one ever blamed you for it; it was no one’s fault.”

“That’s not it, either.” Victoria lies, but it’s only partially a lie.

Kyuhyun shakes his head, defeated. “Whatever you say, princess. So, how are we going to break it to mom?”

“What?” His sister asks, leaning back against her pillows and pulling her blanket up to her chest.

“The baby,” Kyuhyun says straightforwardly, pointing at her stomach. “Do you know how upset she will be if no one told her and you just showed up with her grandchild one day? You haven’t been gotten married yet—having a baby before marriage is a big no-no, you know that.”

Victoria scrunches up her nose. “I can’t tell her. You tell her.”

“What? Why me? It’s your baby!” Kyuhyun retaliates.

“It’s going to be your niece or nephew!” Victoria argues, pursing her lips. “Mom’s going to kill me. Do you want your lovely sister to die so young?”

Kyuhyun bites back a laugh. “Why don’t you just marry Changmin and save us all the trouble? We’ll say the baby is his and the two of you can marry before you deliver the child. Problem solved.”

“How are you just going to throw me at your friend like that? Changmin has his own life too, Kyuhyun-ah. I don’t want to drag him into this mess.” She says.

“He’d be more than happy if you did,” Kyuhyun shrugs. “Just… just wait until tonight. We’ll see how things go.”

Victoria remains silent, biting on the inside of her cheek. She glances out the window and watches as the leaves fall; one by one, the rays of the sun outlining every detail of the world outside.

Then it struck her. Since when had the drapes to her windows been pulled open? Since when had she stopped being afraid of the sun?

When was it that she started anticipating sunrise, whilst the setting sun lulled her into slumber?

END PART 2
Part 1 | Part 3 - [COMING SOON!]

-----

A/N: This isn't as angsty and serious as it seems! I swear, I tried really hard to make it fluffy-ish. Thanks too all my awesome readers and commentators; you all are my driving force and I'm trying to get back to you guys ASAP but I've just been really busy. Hopefully I'll be able to reply to everyone by the weekend! Enjoy this update~ ^_^ One last part to go!