When Baekhyun woke up the next morning, the bed was empty once again. Though he was used to it, it would be nice to have a change. He sat up, head pounding like someone was repeatedly hitting him with a hammer. Baekhyun glanced around and smiled when he spotted the box of painkiller and glass of water by the nightstand. After taking a pill and laying down for a while, the pain gradually subsided, and he managed to fall back asleep.

She was at the desk with her earphones plugged in and notebook on her lap when Baekhyun woke up again. She twirled the chair around aimlessly as she scribbled some things. When she turned to his direction, Baekhyun hurried to close his eyes. It repeated for quite a while, until he decided he didn't want to continue wasting his day away in bed, as tempting as it sounded. When he sat up, she froze and eyed him cautiously, almost as if she was watching him for any attacks. As much as he didn't like that reaction, there was only one thing he could say: he was used to it.

He smiled at her, to which went unreciprocated, before making his way to the bathroom to wash up. His head no longer hurt, although he would agree that he's had better days. It wasn't the first time he came home drunk and she had left painkillers and water by the nightstand. But Baekhyun felt that no matter how many times this went on, he would never fail to be touched. It was the closest thing to affection she displayed for him, after all. 

To give her privacy, Baekhyun spent his time downstairs. He hung up the laundry and mopped the kitchen floor. She did majority of the household chores, but he wanted to ease her workload a little bit. Though there were only two people living here, it was still a big house, and surely such a frail woman like her could use the help. She never asked him to, though, and Baekhyun was sure she knew he did chores occasionally, but she never stopped him. Meals were usually prepared by her, only when Baekhyun had nothing to do would he cook, because she was the one with more talent in that area. 

It seemed as if they established a regime without even having to use words; maybe he was delusional, maybe not yet, but Baekhyun thought of it as chemistry. A silent understanding that only long time lovers would have. But when he reminded himself of his predicament, then he knew that yes, he was definitely delusional. Back then when Baekhyun still lived with his father, he used to always say that love was the greatest weakness for someone living in a world like theirs. A good example would be his mother. Whenever Baekhyun heard that, he would silently disagree. He wasn't anything like his father. The man was distant, cold and mysterious. Baekhyun wasn't like that at all. When it came to the woman he loved, Baekhyun showed everything to let her know just how much he loved her. 

But all that was useless in the end. 

It didn't matter how similar or different Baekhyun was to his father. His marriage seemed to be following the same path: destruction. And Baekhyun was doing everything he could to change that, but it took two hands to clap, if she didn't want to help then there's only so much he can do. He couldn't blame her either, she turned out this way essentially because of him. Baekhyun was stuck, there was no going back, and surely there was no way he could move forward. 

Baekhyun realised he was sinking; and he was already halfway down. 

~*~

"Good morning," her colleague greeted. She smiled and set her bag down onto her desk. 

"You seem happy for a person who hates Mondays," she replied, arranging her files.

"You will be too- ah, forgot, you're married to like, the hottest man on Earth." She fought not to flinch. "But, this new guy might just be the next."

"New guy?"

"Nara, you're here! Come to my office," her boss, Lisa, instructed. Sending a look to her colleague, she did as told and followed the elder woman to her office. When she entered, there was a man sitting on one of the leather seats. He turned and stood up as soon as he heard someone enter. When she met his eyes, she knew that he definitely did deserve the title her colleague bestowed upon him; dazzling hazel eyes, cheeks permanently tinted a beautiful peachy pink color, and messy yet neat boyish hair. 

"Have a seat you two."

Immediately, they sat down across the superior. 

"Minseok here is fresh in, as you can tell, and he'll be learning the ropes from you while he's here."

"Oh, okay."

"So teach him well, he'll mostly just be shadowing you. Also, to jump start this... Mentor-Mentee thing, I've asked Woori's client whether she was okay with a planner switch and she said yes, so here is the file and everything you need to know."

"Is Woori okay with this?" She asked, taking the file over. 

"Of course, of course. The client is coming over later in the afternoon at two. If there are no questions then..."

"Thank you," Minseok said, bowing politely. They exited the office with no words exchanged. She went back to her desk, and Minseok did the same, only his desk was the cubicle right next to hers. After looking through the details, she rolled her chair backwards so Minseok could come into view. 

"I'll give you a copy of this." She raised the file. 

"I can go photocopy it myself-" 

"It's okay," she said, "and I think it's good to tell you how the office works and introduce you briefly."

Minseok straightened up in his seat like an eager schoolboy, and she almost wanted to laugh. 

"There are two wedding planners, me and Woori, you will be the third after your probation period. Lisa just oversees everything. There's the receptionist, Yoona. Two designers, Kevin and Jung In, for clients who want their outfits for the night handmade. Then there's our photographer, Daehyun.

"Now I'll photocopy this and give it to you later." Nara stood and made her way to the machine. As she busied herself with the simple task, she couldn't help but be reminded of the irony of her job and her life. She worked as a wedding planner, although it hasn't been that long since she started, she's seen through quite a handful of weddings she planned herself. And every wedding seemed to be a self-insert of what she dreamt she would get to experience as a child. Her clients were satisfied, obviously, with the wedding she created for them. But she couldn't feel the same when it came to herself. 

Too often she had seen happy couples, and too rare had she felt happy with the man she called her husband. Her colleagues didn't know anything, and they judged purely based on the two times he came to pick her up after work. Being with him was stifling, but she had strangely grown used to it; she had grown used to resenting him that it no longer took effort. 

She grew to accept that she would never be able to stand on stage without her past coming back to bring her down, but that didn't stop her from blaming him. A part of her knew it was slightly her fault for not protecting herself well, that she failed to see that Baekhyun was a man too, and men made mistakes sometimes. But that was no excuse. 

Baekhyun wasn't just making honest mistakes anymore. It was him. The problem lied with him. He was addicted to her. And addiction only led down one path: destruction. 

~*~

Nara and Minseok spent the next few hours researching on possible wedding themes according to the client's request. At two o' clock sharp, the bell by the front door chimed, signaling a customer. She watched as the young lady approached the receptionist, who gestured in her direction. When the client approached, she stood up, and Minseok clumsily followed suit. 

"Hi, Ms. Jung Eunhye?" She asked. 

"Yes, that's me... You look familiar."

"I do? My name is Yoon Nara, perhaps it would ring a bell."

"Did you go to ShimWon High School? You were a third year in 2009?" 

"Yes... Could you be the Jung Eunhye from class 3-2?" 

"Oh my God, Nara it's really you!"

"You look so different, I couldn't even recognize you," she said, allowing herself to be embraced by the other woman. Though she looked excited on the outside, alarm bells were ringing in her head, and she began putting up the defenses. 

"I won't deny I've gotten a few things done," Eunhye said. "Now, let's get this planning started, alright?"

Together with a confused Minseok, they made their way to a small meeting room and began discussing. At around five, Eunhye had to leave for another appointment. Minseok excused himself from the room, seeing that the two ladies had something to talk about privately. 

"Where'd you disappear off to? In the middle of final year the teacher told us you dropped out. It didn't make sense, your grades were good and your financial condition wasn't that bad."

"I... Went abroad. You know me, I loved singing, so I left to sharpen my skills."

"I know, but why aren't you an idol right now?"

"Some things cropped up... and I ended up giving that dream up."

"Have you met any of our old classmates?"

"No, you're the first." She smiled. "How was everyone? Graduated well?"

"Yeah. Every single one of us graduated smoothly. How are you now? Found someone to settle down with?"

She fought not to cringe. "Well, yeah..."

"Oh my gosh, who is it? Someone from high school? Or a college guy? Or perhaps that assistant, Minseok?"

"You have such wild guesses. It's someone from high school, Baekhyun."

"Oh... The one with all the rumors? You're married to him? How- how is he? You know, towards you?"

"He treats me well."

"That's good. Do you love him? Or did he threaten you into marriage?" The girl was obviously joking, but she couldn't help but feel slightly... raw. As if her real situation was bared for everyone to see. 

"If I didn't love him, I wouldn't have married him, silly."

"That's true. Now that I think of it, you two were pretty close back then."

"We were. Alright, you have an appointment to head to, wouldn't want to hold you up."

"We'll talk more next time. You have my number, don't you? Send me a text okay?"

"I will. See you soon."

After spending some time to pack up, she left the room with all the files. As soon as she stepped out, Minseok brushed past looking flustered. She eyed him warily before making her way back to her desk. She and Minseok spent the next few hours until work ended calling up various catering companies and floral shops. One by one her colleagues started filing out and saying goodbye for the day. She had intended to stay in the office to complete as much as she can. There was no hurry, but she just didn't want to have to go home and face him. 

Her phone rang all of a sudden, interrupting the silence in the office; Minseok jerked noticeably. 

"Hello?" 

"Where are you?"

"Office. Why?"

"But work should've ended an hour ago," Baekhyun muttered. "It's Yixing's birthday, a few close friends and I are celebrating later. It would be nice if you could be there."

"I'm not close to him."

"You were. He took care of you back then."

She sighed into the receiver to make known her displeasure. Both she and Baekhyun knew it wouldn't make a difference if she was there or not, Baekhyun was just asking for the sake of asking. 

"Okay. Need gifts?"

"No, Yixing doesn't do those. I'll pick you up."

"Okay," she replied and hung up without a goodbye. She knew Minseok noticed her mood, but that didn't stop her from shutting her files with more force than necessary. 

"Are you leaving?" Minseok asked. 

"Yeah, he's picking me up."

"He?" 

"Ah, I mean my husband. He's picking me up. You shouldn't stay too late, you're not getting paid for working overtime yet, you know."

"I know, but I want to work on this. Newbie's passion, you could say."

"See you tomorrow then. Take care on your way home."

"You too." With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left the office. The wait wasn't long, she suspected he must've sped his way here, considering how far they lived from the city. She climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. 

"How was work?" 

Stop asking me the same thing every single day.

"Are you feeling alright? Sick anywhere?"

Shut up.

"Yixing personally requested you to come. I swear I didn't make it up, so if you're mad at me because of that I-"

"I'm not mad. Just... Keep quiet."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and she could almost picture him as a drenched puppy. She shut her eyes and dozed off during the ride home. Baekhyun had to tap her shoulder to wake her up, and the goosebumps on her skin immediately rose. Without a response whatsoever, she climbed out of the car. He hurried to follow after her, jogging to close up the gap, and entered the house behind her. 

"A simple dress would be nice," he called after her, but she only seemed to make her way up the stairs even faster. Sighing, Baekhyun dropped his keys on the coffee table and belatedly followed her trail. The doors to the wardrobe were open, and when he stopped by it, she had pulled out a baby pink summer dress. She wore it before, a really long time ago when she was still in high school, he was suprised she could still fit into it. He took note of that dress because it was on a day they took a Polaroid together, and Baekhyun still had that photo with him. 

She padded towards the bathroom as if he was invisible. Baekhyun could only stare at her back view and sigh when the door shut with finality. He moved into the wardrobe, ruffling his bangs in habit, and the scent of his fresh shampoo lingered. One day she'd remember the things she felt for him back then, and until that day comes Baekhyun could never stop hoping. He loved her too much to walk away, yet loved her too little to gather enough courage to take a step closer. 

~*~

She wasn't surprised when the car pulled up outside one of Baekhyun's more high-end pubs. He stepped out of the car first and made his way around to her door, she had sat still after unbuckling so he could open the door for her. They were in public, and in public, they had somewhat of an image to uphold. Should anyone know that their marriage was close to shambles, it could spell disaster for Baekhyun and his little organisation. 

With her hand in his, they entered the building. The place was overall dark, but it didn't mean it was dirty. The patrons here were usually from the top of the social ladder, businessmen, models, veteran singers etc. It was one of Baekhyun's "cleaner" places, an establishment that was free from anything illegal. He led her up to the second floor, where she knew there were a few private rooms. She'd been here before, once or twice in the past four years for various occasions she cannot recall. 

They entered room three, stepping into the middle of a round of laughter. There were a total of six people, birthday boy included, all dressed rather nicely. Yixing was the first to react to their entrance, smiling brightly and immediately going over to them. He clapped Baekhyun on the shoulder and pulled him in for a bro-hug, while the others offered their delighted greetings. All these faces weren't foreign to her, it was inevitable that she had to meet some of Baekhyun's "associates" during the course of their marriage. 

"Nara." Yixing gave her a kind look, to which she responded with a polite smile. Out of all the men here excluding Baekhyun, she considered herself closer to Yixing. Back when she was carrying her baby, Yixing was one out of two of her bodyguards. She was close to the second bodyguard, Kyungsoo, as well, but he disappeared after her miscarriage, and she didn't question why. 

There was no need for introductions, everyone knew the other enough to forgo it. She participated in the conversation whenever needed, but most of the time, Baekhyun did the talking. To her relief, they didn't talk business that night, so she didn't feel like she was intruding on something confidential. Sometimes, she thought Baekhyun trusted her too much. Even when he got really private calls, he never bothered to excuse himself from the room she was in to talk. She overheard quite a number of his plans and dealings, some of which even Yixing could be unaware of. She could have Baekhyun arrested should she choose to expose him. 

And she might. Baekhyun trusted her way too much.

Somehow, the conversation topic shifted to Baekhyun's father, she hadn't been paying enough attention to know why. What she did know, though, was that Baekhyun had daddy issues. No, he wasn't abused or any of those sorts, it was just that he simply didn't like talking about his father.

She watched for his expression, ready to calm him down at any given time should she feel the need to. Baekhyun kept his cool, and he looked almost too calm, but she could feel him stiffen up beside her. She assumed his friends didn't know him too well, and she could understand that. Yixing was probably the only one who more or less knew the twisted dynamics of her and Baekhyun's relationship. But it was better for Baekhyun to remain as much of a mystery as he could to those around him, it would minimize chances for betrayal. And she knew that the person who was the biggest threat to Baekhyun was herself. She felt... Unsure. What if one day she exposed him? Be it on purpose or accidentally, circumstances could change, and she might end up biting the hand that fed her. She was a mystery even to herself, so unpredictable and unstable; she couldn't imagine how much of a complex jigsaw puzzle she was to Baekhyun. 

The topic moved on to something more light, Baekhyun relaxed considerably. At one point, she might have had too many shots, and he had to nudge her quietly to tell her to ease up on the alcohol. There could be someone watching them, so she tried her best to answer in a manner that would fit a wife conversing with her husband. Baekhyun seemed pleased, too pleased, actually, with her act. She felt as if Baekhyun has gotten to a point whereby he'd rather be blissfully deceived by lies than suffering under the burden of truth. And she felt almost sorry for him. 

Almost.