Masquerade | Johnyong

★ Chapter thirty-seven

Chapter 37: The descent from grace.

Taeyong's eyes shoot open, gasping for air as he's covered in sweat. "What's wrong? Are you ok?" Johnny asks, taking Taeyong's hand.

Taeyong looks around the plane. He rubs his head. "Are we almost there yet?" He asks. "Yeah. We'll be there soon. Are you ok?" Johnny gives Taeyong a bottle of water.

Taeyong takes it, sipping a bit before putting it down. "Yeah." He takes a deep breath but it only hurts his chest. However, he hides his pain from Johnny.

"I can't wait to get there!" He smiles, holding Johnny's hand. Johnny stares at Taeyong with a look of uncertainty.

🕊️

Chanyeol opens the door and much to his surprise, he finds Baekhyun standing there nervously. "Uh. . .I was wondering if I could stay with you for a little while." He says.

"Why?"

Baekhyun gulps as he looks away. "I just. . .I just thought maybe I would have the chance to properly meet Nahyun and maybe form a connection with her." He says. Chanyeol looks back inside to see Nahyun dancing along to her kids program.

"It's too soon." Chanyeol says. Baekhyun is visibly disappointed as he looks down. He turns to leave but Chanyeol calls him.

"You can't stay here but you can properly meet her but don't mention anything about being her dad. It'll freak her out." Chanyeol says, sternly. Baekhyun nods, agreeing before Chanyeol lets him in.

Baekhyun slowly approaches Nahyun. She turns, looking at him like a strange being. Baekhyun kneels to match her height.

"Hi, Nahyun. I'm. . .Byun Baekhyun" Baekhyun awkwardly smiles.

"Are you my daddy's friend?" She asks. Baekhyun hesitates as he glances at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol just leaves, heading to the kitchen for coffee. "I wonder what things would have been like if we were still together. How would we have raised Nahyun together?" He wonders.

Baekhyun nods. "Yeah. I'm an old friend." He says. Nahyun tilts her head, confused. "Daddy told me about all his friends! I never heard of you." She says as she sits down on the floor. Baekhyun shoots a quick glare at Chanyeol as he comes back into the living room, holding his coffee.

"Well. . .he must have forgotten to tell you about me." As unsure and shaky Baekhyun's tone is, Nahyun still believes him.

Children. Always so naive.

She laughs. "Daddy is so mean. He forgot a friend." She sing-songs. Chanyeol lightly passes her head. "It was an honest mistake. Should I tell you about him now?" He asks. Nahyun nods her head, enthusiastically.

"I love hearing about your friends. Especially Uncle Taeyongie!" She beams. Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol upon the mention of Taeyong, his jaw clenching, almost instinctively.

"Ok first but let's go get you some breakfast!" Chanyeol picks her up as she giggles and cheers.

🕊️

Ten slowly descends down the stairs, all eyes looking at him once again with judgment. The smug looks on their faces knowing they won, knowing they had taken away what Ten cherished the most.