They stared at each other for a while, both too stunned to say anything. Baekhyun sank onto the couch, shoes crunching against the shards of glass. Yixing dismissed the men and locked the door after them. 

"What happened?"

"I think... She might be in trouble."

"How?"

"Tao brought the marriage up, and... he might've seen through me. My weakness. He knows it. And he's going to use it. This is what he came here for. He came to find out how to destroy me."

"If that's the case then we have to get her away from here. At least until you kill him."

"She won't leave. You know how she's like. Too stubborn. Everything from four years ago is going to repeat again." He lowered his face into his palms. "This time she might not be so lucky. And do you really think it's that easy to kill him? As insignificant he is to me, I'm three hundred percent sure he isn't just standing there with his arms spread open, waiting for me to stab him."

"It's okay. Tao doesn't even know how she looks like. And I think if we explain to her the situation, she'll understand."

"But I can't- I can't leave her. The safest place for her is by my side. You know that."

"It's also the most dangerous, Baek. You know that too. Right from day one."

"For now... Let's not say anything to her. For all I know Tao might be joking, like you said he doesn't know her face. We'll just watch her. If they strike, we'll have to explain to her and take her away."

There was a long pause before Yixing sat down on the couch opposite. "This is why I said love will only drag you down, Baekhyun."

"She's worth it."

-

"Daddy, where's mom?" 

"Your mother? She's dead."

"Sir," an elderly woman cut in, placing her wrinkled hands over the boy's ears. "Baekhyun is too young. It would be good to be less candid."

"He'll have to know sooner or later. I've heard worse when I was his age."

"And you want to let your son hear those as well if you had the choice?"

"You talk too much, Nurse."

"I will take Baekhyun to his room." 

As he was led away, Baekhyun couldn't help but ask another question. 

"Why is mom dead?"

"Because," his father replied, voice suddenly more deep and somber than usual as he turned away. "I love her."

-

"Hey..." Nara looked up from her files. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's alright. You weren't that horrible," she replied, trying to reassure an embarrassed Minseok. 

"Hope I didn't cause much trouble for you, and hopefully your, uh, husband didn't get angry at you or anything."

"He doesn't know. He won't. So don't worry too much. Are you feeling okay?" 

"Yeah, I don't get hungover unless I'm really dead drunk. Oh and this is for you." He held up a small box of chocolate with a golden ribbon at the top corner. "As a little thanks and apology."

"You didn't need to, but thank you," she said, accepting the chocolate. "If you're feeling alright, then go call up the hotel and confirm the ballroom availability."

Minseok finally broke into a smile, one so child-like and lovely. "Yes ma'am."

"Again?" She questioned sternly. "Making me sound older than I am again?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry about that," he said between his laughter. "I didn't know. Honest."

"When is your birthday?"

"March twenty-sixth. You?"

"December. I won't tell you the date."

Minseok grinned boyishly. "I'll find out."

"Find out the availability of the ballroom first," she replied jokingly and reached for her cellphone that vibrated not too long ago. 

I'll pick you up after work. This isn't a question. 

She narrowed her eyes at the message. Usually Baekhyun would never sound so demanding. He'd give in to her every single time, even if it inconvenienced him. There must be something wrong, and she has a feeling it had a lot to do with her. But if Baekhyun isn't telling her anything, then she'll just have to wait for his next move. Despite her hatred for him, she knew Baekhyun wasn't dumb. If he isn't telling her, then he's planning something else. And she knew better to not interfere. 

-

"Hey, Baek," she called.

"Hm?"

"You know, last year when you got into a fight with Minki?" She asked cautiously. "What was it about?"

He abruptly turned his head to look at her, and she tried not to flinch away at the proximity. "You really want to know?" He asked, almost whispering into her ear. 

"I was just curious."

"It was about you."

"M- Me?"

"Yeah. That Minki guy, outside he looks so demure and innocent, doesn't he? He's actually one hell of a dickbag."

"That isn't a word."

"Oh, you." He knocked her head gently. "I overheard him talking to his mother about you. I don't know what his mother said, but Minki was really against it. He called you names and all, even brought up the time we first walked out of school together, saying you probably were equally as no good. And I couldn't stand that. You didn't deserve to be labeled under the same tag as me."

"So you hit him."

"Well, yeah. You know I have a bad temper."

"Then why haven't you gotten mad at me? I'm so annoying."

He looked at her, lips sealed tight and jaw tensed. "We're friends, right? You haven't done anything to piss me off."

"What would you do to me if I made you really angry?"

"Hm," he murmured playfully, looking up at the sky. "What should I do?"

"Jerk! You're actually considering it?" She slapped his chest. "Are you going to hit me?"

"Oh come on, guys who hit girls don't deserve to breathe! I'll probably..." 

"Probably?"

"Probably..." He drawled, a playful grin on his face. 

"Baek!"

"Kiss you."

She snorted. "Oh that is a punishment alright."

"Hey!"

-

At about six in the evening, Baekhyun arrived outside her office building. A few minutes later, people started to stream out from the door. He sat up, eyes alert for her. She came out eventually, beside a rather handsome man, and she seemed to enjoy his company. Narrowing his eyes, he honked the car, and that got the attention of all of her co-workers. 

Her eyes landed on the car, then she turned to the handsome man beside her and seemed to say goodbye. Only when she began approaching him did Baekhyun relax and sink back into his seat. The door slammed shut once she got in, and Baekhyun had a feeling she was annoyed with him. But he still couldn't restrain himself. 

"Who was that?"

She didn't answer. 

"I'm asking you a question."

"Who else can it be?"

"I want his name."

"Why? So you can get your men to beat him up? Burn his house down?"

Baekhyun felt his chest constrict, and his words dissolved on his tongue. Defeated, he just started up the car and drove off. Suddenly, excruciating pain hit him, and his ability to breath was knocked away for a split second. On instinct, his hands flew up and cupped the sides of his head. He registered her yelling at him and the blurred image of another pair of hands on the wheel. 

Instead of fading away like it usually would, the pain intensified, and Baekhyun let out a strained cry. The pressure on the gas pedal was relieved, and the car came to a slow stop in the middle of the lane. The cars behind honked irritatedly, but the pain didn't leave him. 

"Baekhyun, what's wrong?! You're scaring me!"

He shut his eyes and clutched at his hair, mentally begging the pain to go away. After some time and deep breaths, his vision was no longer fuzzy and everything was back to normal. The cars behind him switched lanes and cussed as they drove past, but Baekhyun couldn't be bothered to retaliate, he felt oddly drained, as if he just ran a marathon. 

He took some time to gather his senses, and then realised she was still looking at him with panic-stricken eyes. 

"I'm okay," he said, trying to reassure himself more than her. "Sorry."

There was a moment of silence as the car continued moving before Baekhyun said, "I was supposed to go to the supermarket after dropping you off, but something cropped up and I forgot about it. Can we go now? If you're not too tired?"

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"I- I..."

"You stop the car in the middle of the road and scare the out of me and now you want to go to the supermarket? As if nothing even happened?"

"I'm sorry."

"When will you ever stop being sorry, Baekhyun?"

He remained silent, hands gripping the wheel tightly. 

"Let's go to the mart, then," she said quietly, diverting her gaze out the window. Baekhyun risked a glance at her, and his lips curved into a small smile despite the heavy atmosphere. He roamed around the area for a supermarket and finally found one. After parking, they got out and entered the place. It was rather small, but it would have to suffice. 

Baekhyun grabbed a trolley while she stood beside him with a small distance separating them. There was no exchange as he filled the cart with the necessary items. She busied herself with looking at other products, but never put anything into the cart. They pass by a mother and child in the canned food aisle. The young boy, probably not older than four, sat in the child's seat in the cart, observing everything with wide eyes. 

As soon as Baekhyun saw them, his footsteps halted, and he was into the scenario. If only his son was alive today, he would've been four years old too. Things would be so different from now. They would come grocery shopping together, buy toys together, send him to his first day of kindergarten together. 

He glanced beside him, where she also stood rigid as she gazed at the mother and son. He can't imagine how painful it must be for her. Her hand was over her lower abdomen, and Baekhyun figured she probably didn't know she was doing it either. 

Her heart constricted at first glance, and suddenly her stomach began to hurt. Or at least, she thought it did. For some crazy reason, she wanted to walk over and snatch the boy into her arms. He could pretend to be her son, and they would live happily, just them both. It was a fact that her dead child ruined her dreams, and for some time she did hate the fact that there was a living being within her. But she couldn't help but grow attached and protective towards the beating heart of her own unborn child. If only he could've at least seen this world before dying. If only she could've at least held him in her arms once. If only she could hear him call "mommy" at least once. 

If only. 

"Nara, come on." 

At his voice, she snapped out of her reverie. And all that she's left to see was Baekhyun's back view. 

-

"Where did you go?" She asked, seeing Baekhyun coming back with two boxes, and a few more with the two bodyguards. 

"My dad's. He bought all these," he answered and told the bodyguards to set the boxes down and leave. "Let's take a look."

She went and grabbed a penknife from a drawer in the kitchen before returning, mildly acknowledging Baekhyun's murmured reminders to be careful. He took the tool from her and began slitting open the boxes by the tape. 

"It's all baby clothes. Female baby clothes," Baekhyun mumbled. 

"Well, someone sure is eager. We don't even know the gender yet. Open the rest." She sat nearby as he began slitting open all the other four boxes at one go. The contents were mainly baby necessities, toys, clothes, diapers and all. By the door were two larger boxes that she could already tell were the baby cot and pram. 

"Note that he didn't even buy anything for a boy," Baekhyun said jokingly. "I'll put these in the nursery."

She made a move to get up and help, but Baekhyun whipped around and glared her down. "Baek, I'm pregnant, not handicapped. Relax."

"No," he began whining, dragging out the word and almost stomping his feet. "Stay. I'll be back."

Sighing in defeat, she remained in her position and looked through the box closest to her. This one was filled with clothes, dresses, mittens, socks and all. She picked up a mitten and slipped two of her fingers in, smiling at the small size. When all the boxes were cleared, Baekhyun sat down beside her. 

"Say, if it's a girl, what name do you like?" He asked. 

"I haven't thought about it. What about you?"

"Joohyun. Byun Joohyun. It's a pretty name," Baekhyun replied, smiling fondly. "Or Hyuna? That's nice too."

"Father in law doesn't seem to be the only excited one," she commented. 

"What if it's a boy?"

"Oh, I've thought of that. Jinhyun."

"All those names have Hyun in it," he mused. 

"That's because Byun and Hyun go well together. It has a nice ring. Are you looking forward to a girl?"

"Yeah. We can dress her up like a princess, pick her up from ballet classes and when she grows older, I can scare all her suitors, so she doesn't get hurt by choosing the wrong guy."

"And what if it's a boy?"

"Then I'd teach him how to fight, how to protect you, and how to treat a girl right. But I want a girl more, that way, I'd have a reason to entrust this... This organisation to someone else. Get rid of this looming danger, and our daughter would live a normal life even when we're gone. If we have a capable son, then by right, he would have to take over. I don't want that."

"You've thought that far already?"

"I just love whatever I have very much. I don't want any unnecessary harm to befall on us."

-

The night was drafty, it was nearing autumn, after all. She pulled her cardigan closer, and the swing rocked a little at the movement. The same mitten, light pink with little lace patterns, lay by her feet as she pulled her knees to her chest. There was no night sky to look at, no stars to make her feel melancholic. It was just trees and darkness, the only light came from within the house, and even that was a depressing orange glow. 

She didn't know if Baekhyun had fallen asleep or not, but when she got out of bed in the middle of the night, he didn't say anything. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get mother and son out of her head. It kept haunting her, replaying over and over again in her mind, and sometimes, she swore she had seen herself. 

A cold gust blew past her, and she wondered if that could be her son walking by. She placed a palm on the empty space beside her, half expecting the wood to be abnormally cold, as if her son had been sitting there. Just tonight, just tonight she'd allow herself to let her defenses down a fraction. 

-

"I'm going to throw it out," Baekhyun said. There was something off about him. It was as if he was looking at her, but when she stared back at him, she knew he was looking past her instead. It pained them both, she understood that, but she couldn't help but resent him.

"Then throw it."

He took a breath and his weary shoulders sagged under the weight of guilt. "Okay." 

She sat still for the next five minutes, focusing on the sound of him dismantling the baby cot and plastic crinkling. She saw him walk past through the opened bedroom door to head downstairs. Unknowingly, she began to move, each step heavier than the previous as she approached the room. 

The boxes of clothes and toys were still there. And she began looking through each box for that one mitten she had slipped onto her fingers when her father in law first sent them over. She found the box, and mildly recognized the other articles of clothing packed inside it along with the mitten. She picked up the tiny glove, put two of her fingers through, then slipped it into her pocket, never looking back. 

- 

Baekhyun knew they both wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. The house was quiet, and the moonlight bleeding in from the floor-to-ceiling windows made things a whole lot more gloomy. He stared blankly at the chandelier, letting a blur of thoughts whirl in his head. The memories jumped back and forth so quickly, just as he realised he was thinking about the now empty baby room across the hallway, the sound of her sobs in the hospital ward pushed its way through. 

The covers shifted, on instinct, Baekhyun shut his eyes. He could sense her sitting up, and the weight on the other side of the mattress was relieved. Her socked feet padded against the floor and he risked a peek at her. He could tell she was trying to be as quiet and possible when she left the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Baekhyun assumed she was just getting a glass of water, but she didn't come back after five, then ten minutes. 

Worried, he made his way down and found the kitchen lights turned off. It was so late into the night, she couldn't possibly have left the house, could she? There was nothing open at this hour anyway. He scanned the living room, where one table lamp was lit, and he finally saw a mess of black hair at the other side of the window. It freaked him out for a second, but he calmed himself down quickly. The wooden swing was by the window he had seen her, so she was probably getting fresh air. He took a step forward but froze. Was it wise to approach her? 

Baekhyun walked towards the window and sat himself down in the armchair positioned right in front of it. He had an idea what made her want to come out, and he took relief in the fact that he wasn't the only one suffering. The only thing that squeezed his heart now, was that she couldn't bring herself to share her thoughts with him. It was expected, she hated him after all, but back then they could talk about anything and not feel uncomfortable. She'd tell him about her parents, who had left her with her grandparents and never came back until she turned fifteen. Now at twenty three, the last time she saw her parents was eight years ago. 

She didn't know why they didn't stay with her, neither did she know whether they were alive or dead even right now. Baekhyun had tried locating them, which he succeeded in; they were living in Beijing, China, and that was six years ago. But what they were doing and their current state was unknown. He told her his findings, but she didn't care, and even made him promise not to bother with them anymore. If that was what she wanted, then Baekhyun would never say no. 

Gently, he leaned his head against the window pane. All they were separated by now, was one quarter glass and three quarters bricks and cement, yet Baekhyun felt they were miles apart. How long more would they continue like this? Always missing things they once had but now lost, always living in silence and underlying hostility.

The orange glow from the table lamp weighed his heart down. He could remember the wreckage of their house from four years ago, even her scream was so vivid, as if it happened just yesterday; as if it was happening right now. He could see the blood that ran down her legs, forming a pool around her, he heard the cries of his five month old son, "daddy, daddy, please help us."

There was never a time Baekhyun had hated himself more than now. He couldn't bring himself to imagine the magnitude of her resentment for him. But he wouldn't give up. He'd lost his son already, no way he was going to lose the only woman he loved. Even if she hated him, even if she despised him, he would never let go. Perhaps it was his idea of atonement. 

Baekhyun got up and made his way to the veranda. She was still hunched over on the swing, and he had a feeling she was asleep. Careful not to make the wooden floorboards squeak, Baekhyun approached her. She was indeed asleep, and if Baekhyun left her like that she wouldn't be able to move her neck in the morning. He slipped his arm under her knees and the other supported her back. Her head naturally fell against his chest, and Baekhyun liked that feeling. 

He noticed something fall onto the floor, but he couldn't pick it up with his hands full like this. Baekhyun carefully set her on the bed and pulled the covers over before going back to retrieve whatever had dropped. It was something small, he had seen it from the distance. And when he went closer and picked it up, Baekhyun couldn't hold back a sob. 

A little late but Happy Chinese New Year guys!! 恭喜发财红包拿来！哈哈