TWELVE

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(Evening)

Kyungsoo was now taking a good rest and already entered her dreamland as Chanyeol hummed her all time favorite lullaby repetitively to make she fell asleep. That was the thing that Chanyeol would always do every time he wanted Kyungsoo to be asleep when she was little. Time had flown really fast as Chanyeol thought about it. It seemed unbelievable that her beloved baby girl had grown up, got married, and soon upcoming nine months, she would officially become a mother to her own kid.

Chanyeol could still remember the day when Jongin came to his house to ask for his blessing as he wanted to propose and make Kyungsoo to become his wife. He could still remember how happy he was that time when he knew that finally there was still someone who really could accept his daughter; who seriously wanted to treasure love to his daughter just as much as he had been given to her for all this while. He could still remember how broad her daughter was smiling, and how brightened up she was looking during her wedding day as he knew that was the happiest moment that his daughter had first experienced in her life.   

Being apart from his daughter started on that day was something unbearable for him, but at the thought of his daughter had had someone that would take care of her and love her, he couldn’t be more thankful and glad than that. However, the unexpected incident that happened had made his heart to be broken as same as Kyungsoo was having.

“I trust you Jongin, but why did you betray my trust? What about the promises that you made to Kyungsoo? Seeing my daughter in a condition like this again isn’t what I wish to see ever again. I—I just can’t.” 

His eyes were flooding with hot tears. His lower lip quivered as he held one hand up to his face; his open palm covered his mouth, and then there, a silent cry was being produced by him as his aching heart couldn’t take it no more.

******

Chanyeol propped himself down on his comfy bed together with a loud sigh. Five minutes of crying could already make the more-than-a-half-of-fifty man to feel exhausted although he didn’t use much energy for him to cry. He sure had gotten older.

“Hmm … yeobo … what should I do now?” he asked tiredly in his heart.

His eyes were focusing on staring at the picture that was being put in the middle size rectangle frame on the table lamp next to his bed. It was the last picture of his wife, who was carrying the newborn Kyungsoo, which he managed to take just before his wife breathed out her last breath. She looked tired, but she was still smiling happily as if there was nothing wrong going on with her at that time.

Chanyeol’s eyes had started to brim with tears again. He sat up and then took the picture from the table. He stared at it with a smile carved on his lips while his fingers were caressing the hard frame at the direction of his wife’s cheek, as if he was really caressing her cheek. The tomboy wife of him, it seemed unbelievable that she had become a mother. It made Chanyeol to laugh a bit whenever he flashed back his memories with his late wife. His wife was a harsh and sassy type of a woman. Dressing like a boy was one of her favorites. If he wanted to flash back every moment that he had spent with his wife, a day wasn’t enough. Only God knew how much he missed his wife at that time. 

“How are you doing, yeobo? I hope that you are happier than you were in this photo up there. Don’t worry about us. Although this thing happens to Kyungsoo, I’ll keep my promise that I’ve made to you; that I will take care of our little one no matter what, until I die. Until we meet again. I miss you so much, Baekhyun-ah …” he talked lowly, and when he closed his eyes, a tear slid out from his tear duct, rolling smoothly on his cheek before it dropped down perfectly on the photo.

******

(Kim’s House)

Jongin: Yeah. I meet you two tomorrow night. Bye, dad.

Jongin’s parents would be present for the next day family meeting too. Telling his parents about what happened was an easy task for him to do because he would never get to hear the nag or scold from his parents. His parents were happy, in fact. That was what his parents had wished and wanted to be happened actually—the news that they had been awaited. They never liked Kyungsoo, and would never be because a woman like Jessica was their type. When they received the good news from Jongin in early month of the year, telling them that he had returned back with Jessica, they were like the happiest parents ever in the world.

Kyungsoo hadn’t had their blessings yet although she had been married with Jongin for three years.  The only reason why they allowed her to marry Jongin was only because of their own son. They would always agree with any decisions that Jongin made, and now that Jongin was already in the process of settling his divorce case, they had nothing more to worry about.  Their son and Jessica were now could be together without being in a secret relationship. They would have a discussion with her parents later on, to get them married after Jongin’s divorce case had settled. Since Jessica was pregnant with Jongin’s child, there was no reason for not letting them to be tied a knot.

“Your parents must be happy right now right, jagi?” Jessica asked and slowly wrapped her arms around Jongin’s waist and then kissed his lips.

“Yeah,” Jongin paused. “They sounded so happy, like it is my first time to hear that, you know? This news must be the most greatest of the greatest news they had ever heard, I guess,” he continued and ended up with chuckles from both of them.  

******

(Techno Company)

Sehun: Hyung, let’s meet at the usual place right now. I’ve finished my work and will be there in thirty minutes.

Minseok: Why? Don’t you wanna go back home and change your cloth first? It’s still evening.

Sehun: No, I can’t wait until tonight. Okay hyung. I’ll be waiting.

Minseok: Oh. Al—alright then.

Sehun quickly ended up the call and got himself ready to go. While he was arranging his scattered things and stuff on the table, his mind was being working hard like his body too.

“Did Jongin know about this? Of course he is, right? His wife must’ve called him as soon as she woke up. Argh, molla!”  

******

(Avenue Company)

Minseok huffed while he was staring on his phone’s screen. He was wondering whether Kyungsoo had read the text message that he had sent to her earlier, or she hadn’t because up till that moment, he still didn’t get the reply from her. Minseok felt sorry for himself for having that kind of feeling. He seemed desperate. He was waiting for a text from Kyungsoo as if that woman was her girlfriend.

“Silly me. I should get going now.”

******

Minseok had arrived ten minutes earlier than Sehun was. The two had gathered at their favorite place; the meat stall. It was the place where those two cousins would always go every time they felt like to hang out since they were in secondary school. They were the regular customers, and the workers there had known them so well. Sometime they would be given a discount since the workers knew that the young boy that they knew before had already become the CEO of his family’s company. Apart from the delicious meat, the location of the stall had made them to be attracted to always come there also. It was located near a beautiful lake which could give the customers who came to that place the feeling of calm.

“This is to be considered as the earliest dinner of mine since it was only 6:15 p.m.,” Minseok told; chuckled a little.

“It’s okay hyung,” the younger replied.

While they had their early dinner, Minseok was then telling Sehun the whole thing (except about his feelings towards Kyungsoo) about what happened during his visit to the hospital. At the time when Sehun knew that Kyungsoo was someone’s wife, he was sure that she was indeed Jongin’s wife, and she was pregnant. He was thinking to congratulate Jongin later on. Based on what Minseok had been telling him again, Kyungsoo was supposed to be home right now, and Jongin had known about that.

“What is her name again, hyung?” Sehun asked to reassure.

“It’s Kyungsoo.”

Sehun then nodded his head while he muttered the name lowly; trying to remember it. Sehun didn’t wanna tell Minseok about what he had discovered earlier, so, Minseok still didn’t know that Kyungsoo’s husband; Jongin, was Sehun’s workmate. He had planned to congratulate Jongin and made a small party in the office once Jongin had gone back for work the upcoming Monday. Jongin must be so shocked when he knew how Sehun could know that he was going to be a father.