“I am deeply apologise Miss Kim,” was the first thing Kris said after they had settled in the restaurant. Saehyun looked at him, and slightly raised her eyebrow. “If I knew you came here with a baby, I would let you have my apartment and let me sleep elsewhere instead. I’m really sorry. I’m the most heartless creature on Earth,” he continued.

Saehyun wanted to laugh at his statement but looking at how serious Kris looked, she knew he wasn’t joking and it wasn’t really right to laugh. “Look,” she swallowed. “This is not my baby, not really. This little fella over here…” Saehyun directed her gaze towards Yuhan in the stroller; who was sleeping soundly. “…is my nephew. And, well, thank you for your concern, but I’m now staying over at his father’s house.”

Kris opened and then closed his mouth again, cancelling anything that he might want to ask as the waiter arrived to take orders. Since Kris was the one who offered her free lunch, Saehyun sat still in her seat and let the man ahead her ordered everything. When the waiter left, Kris leaned closer. “His father? You mean your brother?”

“No, he’s my brother-in-law. My ex-brother-in-law actually.” Saehyun didn’t know why she exposed the small details to him instead of just saying a simple ‘yes’ and the look Kris gave her made her felt regretted from doing so. “You mean, you’re staying at your ex-brother-in-law’s house even when he is divorced with your sister? I…I, I apologise again if it was because of my fault that you’re forced to live with your ex-brother-in-law! That is horrible. I should have given you the apartment. I’m really sorry.”

Saehyun tended to clear out the misunderstanding, but Kris didn’t appear calm in his seat however. He was sweating, not that much but still sweating and his face was in a deep scowl like he was angry with himself or something. “Hey Kris, it’s not your fault. Well, my brother-in-law wasn’t divorced with my sister, it just that…my sister, she passed away because of an accident. So, our relationship is just fine like, any other brother and sister in law relationship. And, he’s the one who wanted to help me. Besides, he has children so it wasn’t that awkward.”

The explanation managed to make Kris felt better, Saehyun guessed as he suddenly curled a smile and bowed down his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” he said once he lifted up his head. “It’s okay.” Saehyun uttered back in her soft voice.

“So, she was your older sister?” The food had arrived and there were just two sets of sushi (Saehyun didn’t know how to pronounce the names as she rarely eat sushi) and Kris voiced out his question before they started to dig in. “Yes. She’s my twin to be exact.”

Upon hearing that, Kris almost spitted out the sushi he just stuffed inside his mouth. And the sole reason was that, he was confused by how Saehyun said her relationship with her brother-in-law wasn’t awkward when the latter actually married someone who looked like her and it worse as his wife was dead by now. But, he didn’t say anything and continued eating in silence to make Saehyun felt comfortable.

After finishing their lunch—that Kris paid for, the man insisted to walk Saehyun and Yuhan home even when Saehyun said ‘no, thanks’ for like ten times but he was still stubborn and stuck to what he wanted to do, so there they were; walking back together to Baekhyun’s house in not-so-awkward situation.

“So Kris, um what are you doing in Korea actually? Isn’t that you’re going to be the CEO for your father’s company in Germany?”

“CEO? No, not really. Not for the company in Germany actually. I came here to handle our sub company. But, where did you hear that rumour?”

“Well, the party? I thought the party was meant to celebrate your arrival as a new CEO…”

“The party was meant to celebrate the opening of our branch in Korea, Miss Kim.” Kris cuts in. “Don’t you know?”

“Oh, right.” Saehyun scratched the nape of her neck. “Sorry if I’m being nosy but, why did you rent that apartment? Like, well, you’re a wealthy man, a rich man, the son of a CEO and so on but, to live in a just, you know, um commoners’ apartment. Cheap apartment even,”

“Well, it’s only for temporary. I have a house here, but it is still under construction, uh renovation. But, I promise to let you have the apartment after my house is done, Miss Kim.”

“Saehyun, just call me Saehyun,” she smiled. “You don’t have to be too formal with me. I am the one who should call you mister, but I just call you with your first name. Sorry, Kris. I mean Mr. Kris?” The lady stifled her laughs with her palm. Kris on the other side, turned to look at her with a blank face. Saehyun cleared and fixed her fringe in nervousness. She felt like she did something dumb and wrong based on Kris’ reaction.

“Wufan,” the odd man suddenly uttered. “Just call me Wufan,” and then he grinned his gummy smile again. The walk ended pretty soon for Saehyun’s liking and the last conversation they had (so far) was Saehyun been a nosy woman she was, again, asked the older man about his fluentness in speaking Korean to which he replied, he was once lived here—in Korea and frequently attended Korean classes ever since he was in elementary school. They exchanged phone numbers too to which Kris or Wufan said ‘for the sake of our apartment’s case’. He promised to contact her once the landlord had safely arrived in Seoul after his damn vacation.
 

∆

Baekhyun opened the front door of his house, to be greeted with an immaculate view of the interior and tasty drooling smells of pastries been baked assaulted his nose. Once his feet stepped onto the shining floor of his house, he didn’t felt dust anymore. Baekhyun noticed there was a smell of a house fragrance lingered around here too, which was literally something new (because he never ever, buys any house fragrances anymore since Saerom’s demise). He left his briefcase on the couch quickly and proceeded to follow the shrilling smell of cake came from no other than the kitchen.

“Daddy! You’re home!” Hyemi hopped off the stool near the kitchen island and rushed towards his side. The little girl excitedly pulled him with her face full of flour until they both stood next to Saehyun at the kitchen island, who was wearing Saerom’s floral pattern apron and had her hair tied into a messy bun. Baekhyun looked at the surface of the kitchen island, and saw a lot of trays with still-raw muffin were placed atop of them. He took a glance at Saehyun who was busily mixing dough in the enormous bowl in ultimate concentration.

“Oh, Baek oppa. You’re home.” After a minute or so, Saehyun lifted her head to meet with Baekhyun’s gaze on her. “Yup…so you’re baking muffins?” He said in hope to initiate a conversation. “Oh, yes! Hyemi said her classmate is going to celebrate her birthday at school tomorrow so, she wants to donate these muffins for the party.” Saehyun explained as she picked out the newly baked muffins from the oven. “Here have a taste,” the lady chose a muffin out of twelve and handed it to Baekhyun carefully. “Be careful, it’s hot,” she reminded him but getting back a snarky reply from the man. “Of course, it’s hot. It just came out of the oven.”

Before he managed to take a bite of it, someone tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Daddy, tell us what you think because I help Mama Saehyun a lot to prepare this you know?” Hyemi said while Saehyun nodded, smiling. “Oh, really? It must taste bad then…” he sneered.

“Baekhyun,” the man felt his fore arm been hit tenderly and he saw Saehyun at his side making disapproval expression. “Okay okay, I was just joking. Now, let me try this first.” Baekhyun grinned at her and hold the muffin (which was already lukewarm) towards his mouth.

Hyemi and Saehyun stared in eager expectation as Baekhyun took a bite of the muffin in his hand. “So how was it Daddy?”

Baekhyun teased them by making dissatisfaction looks on his face. Those two ladies looked rather nervous as Baekhyun didn’t say anything but only making not-so-convincing expressions. They waited for more than thirty seconds until Baekhyun shouted, “It was…deh-lee-cious!” And he intentionally enumerated on the word ‘delicious’ playfully.

As to that Hyemi whined, “Daddy is so mean!” loudly and smacked her father on his arm with her tiny hands. “Ouch!” Baekhyun snickered and hold his arm as if it was broken. “Daddy is so mean! Daddy is so mean!” the man then said in his fake tiny voice annoyingly as he shook his body like an insane penguin as he imitated his daughter. Saehyun was laughing hardly with her hands covering his mouth and body bent down, shaking. The little girl, however, didn’t quite liking the joke,  pouted and left the kitchen; sulking but after he hit his father on his abdomen.

Baekhyun halted from making fun of his daughter, and he ended up laughing on his own joke. “Hyemi-ah!” Saehyun abruptly stopped sniggering and called out for Hyemi who was already stomped on her foot to go upstairs. “Just let her be. She’ll be okay soon.”

“Yes, she’ll be okay soon. But who’s going to help me with these muffins until then?” Saehyun looked at Baekhyun with her arms folded neatly against her chest. She tried not to pout as she was really angry at him because he was the one who responsible for making Hyemi annoyed. How was she going to finish everything quickly without a help from her little niece? “I will,” Baekhyun untied his necktie, threw it on the stool and rolled up his sleeves until his elbows level. Saehyun just watched him at the side without any words as he picked a tong and inserted another tray of muffins into the oven. She smiled by herself and then started to do her own work again.

They completed the task after less than an hour, and Baekhyun insisted to stay to help Saehyun packed the muffins in pink-coloured boxes even when Saehyun had shooed him to go to bed (and pushed him out of the kitchen) with a reason of going to work early tomorrow but he just shrugged it off, saying waking up early was only small matter for him.

“Ten, eleven and…twelve.” It was midnight when Baekhyun counted there were twelve boxes filled with muffins as both of them sat on the kitchen floor. Without being asked to, the man lifted up all the boxes and lined them up on the kitchen island and went straight to place each used utensil on the sink but someway Saehyun made it to save the dough bowl before it was put to clean.

“Why?” Baekhyun asked when Saehyun stopped him from picking up the bowl. The man himself had been halfway done washing the dishes. The end of his rolled up sleeves were already damped. “Look, I don’t like to waste food,” Baekhyun heard her saying before she wiped the leftover dough on the surface of the bowl with her index finger, and then casually clean the collected dough later. “See? This leftover dough is still edible and tasty,” she giggled and emphasised on the word ‘tasty’.

Her action somehow caught Baekhyun off guard. He thought, Saehyun was just wanted to save the bowl for her to clean, perhaps because she felt guilty for letting him cleaned everything alone but her unpredictable action of her finger in front of him was what she did instead. Baekhyun knew that Saehyun’s intention was completely innocent (unlike what he was thinking in his head currently) but still. He couldn’t help but to swallow back the gulp of his saliva that threaten to drool.

The water was still running in the sink but, Baekhyun, on the other side, was stoned watching Saehyun’s act of ‘not wanting to waste food’ as he assumed it was more interesting and the lady herself didn’t quite notice Baekhyun’s approval look of her little show.

For the last time, Saehyun thought after the fourth time of her trying to clean the bowl the ‘natural’ way, as she pressed her finger along the surface of the bowl for more leftover dough. But, it didn’t make it to reach however. Baekhyun’s hand suddenly holds hers, and proceeded to bring it closer towards his mouth in swift motion. “Wait.” The thing happened next was really awkward and shocking (Saehyun was really, extremely taken aback) when Baekhyun her index finger nonchalantly like it was nothing. Like it was the most ordinary thing to do in his life; dough from someone’s finger, and to make it sounded worse, it was Saehyun’s finger. He did it casually like it was absolutely nothing. But how? Why?

Saehyun didn’t want to think how she could literally felt his taste bud on his (soft) tongue as he her finger (that sounded really awkward) and the sharpness of his teeth (and also the texture of his palate). The only word in her mind was a cussing word and she thought it would be pointless to say which one. Even it was a bit too late when she pulled away her finger from Baekhyun’s mouth; wet with his saliva, she did it anyway. Baekhyun stared at her and said, “Yes, you’re right. It was tasty.” Saehyun swore the sockets of her retinas weren’t going to hold them anymore and the heat that crept up her neck and face was lividly burning.

“I…uhh, I think, I’m going to…going to, to go to bed. Yes, I’m going to bed. I’m sleepy. Yes, really sleepy.” There was a slip of her nervous laugh in between her stuttering sentence and she immediately rushed upstairs without another glance at her weird brother-in-law who just her index finger and acted like it was the most normal thing to do.

Once Baekhyun was left alone in the kitchen, with the background sound of the running tap in the sink, he grimaced and growled inwardly at his silly action and knocked his head on the kitchen island for several times. It wasn’t going to change anything though, except for the fact that his forehead might has bruises tomorrow morning but of course, the man was too dumb to think about that. He was too dumb to think about anything at all.