“Yes, I’m sorry but I think we need to push it back. Do you have time on Saturday? Or when will you be available? I need to check my schedule first.” Aerin clamped her phone between her ear and her shoulder, hands rummaging through her bag to find her journal. “Right, I think my fiancé will be available so we can push it back to Saturday if you have time.”

“Sure, sure. I’m sorry Unnie, I didn’t know Baekhyun would be so busy today.”

“It’s okay, Aerin. But I don’t think we could delay more after this. We don’t have much more time.”

“Yes, I understand. But thank you really, I’ll see you on Saturday.”

Aerin heaved a weary sigh as she put her phone back on the table while she wrote another note on her journal. The couple were supposed to meet for their appointment with a designer for her wedding dress today. But her boyfriend still hasn’t gotten back from the office until now. Baekhyun said it was an important sudden meeting and he was needed there so he couldn’t leave.

It has been two years since Baekhyun proposed to her, and they had been preparing for their wedding since a year ago. Honestly, it wasn’t easy for her to juggle between her study and the wedding preparation. Baekhyun genuinely offered to wait until she graduated as they thought that they were not in rush, but Aerin sincerely wanted them to proceed with the preparation albeit slowly—Jongin and Baekhyun’s parent didn’t have much to say because they only want them to be comfortable in preparing the wedding. Now that she was doing her undergraduate thesis and got even closer to their wedding, she didn’t deny that she felt exhausted. They hired a wedding organizer, yes, but the couple of course were still needed here and there.

“Hi, Darling.” Baekhyun placed a soft peck on her temple before taking a seat right beside the girl. “Did you wait for long? I’m sorry the meeting went even longer because there are too much things needed to be settled.”

The girl turned to the side to stare at her fiancé. “It’s okay. I’m waiting while doing my thesis.” She smiled softly, but Baekhyun could hint the weariness showing on her face.

“Still, you’ve waited for almost an hour.” The man glanced at his wrist. “I’m sorry.” Aerin only rolled her eyes because she knew no matter how many times she said that it was okay, the man still wouldn’t stop saying sorry. Aerin didn’t say anything and suddenly just leaned to place a soft peck on his cheek. She saw Baekhyun blushed at the sudden display of affection. It wasn’t that it’s the first time she did it, but Baekhyun knew she usually was too shy to do it in public. They were in a café near the girl’s university, but they were seated at the most secluded part so they wouldn’t get bothered by other guests. “W—what was that for?” He asked, stuttering.

She giggled because he looked cute when he was flushing red like that. “Because I know you wouldn’t stop saying sorry, I had to stop you.”

“Well, you know I’m never going to stop if what I am getting for saying sorry was a kiss.” Aerin slapped his arm at his answer and muttered a small ‘ert’ to him before turning her attention back to the screen, earning a laugh from the older. “So, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?”

Aerin closed her screen before turning back to Baekhyun. She had a pout decorating her lips, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but quickly lean to kiss the pout away. “Can we have the good news without the bad one?”

“I hope it won’t be so bad for you, Baby,” He smiled, softly squeezing her hand.

“Ok, come on I’m all ears.” The girl said, tucking her hair behind her ears.

The girl could see that Baekhyun looked excited to pass the news to her by how he fixed his posture to fully face the girl. The man took a deep breath and smiled widely before he started, “We finally secured the collaboration project with Shin corp.” He squeezed her hand out of excitement. She instantly squealed at the good news and threw her hands around his neck to hug him.

Aerin knew how Baekhyun had been working really hard to win this project with the big investor. It took him almost half a year to finally get here, and she couldn’t be prouder with this grand achievement. “Congratulations, oh my God.” She pulled away. “I’m so proud of you, Baekhyun.” The girl cupped his cheeks and brushed his cheekbone with her thumb, earning a happy grin from her boyfriend.

“But this was where the bad news came from.” Baekhyun said softly, gripping her fingers and gently his thumb on the back of her hand. “Getting this project means I need to be away for a while.”

“Oh?” Aerin looked surprised. “You never told me about this before.” Although she was still smiling, Baekhyun could see how she was trying to hold the smile for him.

“Yes, I’m sorry, Baby. I was too focused on how to win it, but I forgot to tell you about this.” Aerin could see the gloom on Baekhyun’s face. “I will need to stay in Japan for a month at least, probably two to three months at most.”

Baekhyun saw a pout forming on her lips. “That’s kind of long, though. Will you be needed anytime soon?”

The man hummed. “They told me I should arrive by the end of this month.” Baekhyun said, carding his hand through her silky hair.

“The end of this month is in a week, Baekhyun.” She jutted her lips more.

The man her hair and tucked some strands behind her ear. “I promise I’ll do my best, Baby. Let’s hope everything will run well so I won’t need to stay for three months, hm?” Baekhyun gently squeezed her hand, trying to assure her.

“But if you really need to stay for three months, doesn’t it mean we have to push back the wedding date?” She asked cautiously. The man saw how her eyes started to glisten and he quickly reached to caress her cheek. “We only have around three months left before the wedding, and that means I will need to take care of everything by myself.” And now tears started welling on her eyes.

“Ssh, Baby, hey…” Baekhyun pulled both her hand and hold them tight with his. He knew she’s going to start crying if he didn’t choose his words carefully. This wasn’t the first time, and Baekhyun knew she was already too stressed with her undergraduate thesis. And knowing that he would leave for a while only made it even worse. “I talked about the wedding day with Dad, and I’m sure we can do it without changing the wedding date, don’t worry, hm?” He said softly. “And for the preparation, we’ll see what I can do to help before I leave, okay? I can try to talk to Dad about flying back on the weekend too.”

The girl sniffled. She knew she couldn’t do anything about this, and crying wouldn’t help her either. But she just couldn’t help it when it has been tiring for her, and now she found out that the only person she could rely on the most would be gone in the critical time. Aerin knew she shouldn’t whine because it must be hard on Baekhyun’s part too. But just for this time, she wanted to be spoiled because she knew she deserved it, and she knew Baekhyun would understand it. “I’m going to miss you,” She said with a small voice, gazing down to hide her sulking face while playing with his fingers.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but coo at her before pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you too, so much, Baby.” The man mumbled softly into her hair.

“Now let’s go home since we cancelled today’s appointment. I asked to meet on Saturday.” Aerin pulled away from the hug. “This should be the second last fitting before they do the finishing part for my dress. For your suit, I think we can ask them to work faster for the last fitting before you leave.”

“Okay. You’re really the best, Baby.” Baekhyun pinched her cheek since he found her adorable when she tried not to sound too commanding while sulking like this. “But you’ll look prettier without that frown, you know.” The man chuckled.

She punched his chest before turning her body to tidy the desk, pushing her laptop back into the bag. “I hate you.”