$ t h i r t y o n e $
Baekhyun asked for the day off to spend it with Miran. They had left their son with the other members, and he was assigned patrolling duty for the day. As a beta, he normally didn't have to participate in those duties, only the alphas and the betas were exempt. But without Baekhyun around and nothing else to do, Kyungsoo had asked him to join the lower ranks for the day.
As they got in the car that morning, Miran looked to Baekhyun who was sat in the driver's seat. Her words were full of curiosity. "Where are we going, Light?"
He heaved a sigh before he began to speak, there was something on his mind that had been troubling him. "If you want to see your family, I want to help you do that. But I want to show you something first." He said to her. She immediately knew what it was about. He was still upset, even though she had assured him that she loved the pack and would never leave them. Perhaps he wanted real proof that she was loyal. "I just don't want you to think that I said those things because I don't understand how you feel. I do understand, and I want to show you."
Miran gave a shake of her head. "You don't have to. Its like you said: the pack is my only family now."
"You want to see them." He insisted. He started the engine of the car and put it into drive as he continued speaking. "I just want you to see what you can expect from them. Some people shun people like us because we're criminals. But we're just trying to survive, and this is the only way we know how to."
She bit down on her lower lip and sat back in her seat, not knowing where they were going, or what to expect. She was rather surprised when they headed into the middle class neighborhoods of Seoul. The houses were nice, but modest. They were nothing like the life she had been used to with her own family, or even now with the pack. With the exception of Hani, the pack members liked to live lavishly with the money that they earned. Baekhyun often told her that there was no point in making all of that money and not enjoying it.
They parked by the curb and both left the car. Baekhyun wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her up the small path that led to the front door.
Baekhyun rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. To the door came a middle aged woman who smiled wide and brought her hands to her face in surprise as tears spilled from her eyes. "My Baekhyun-ah! Its been so long since I've heard from you. You have no considertaion for your own mother." She said to him in a scolding tone, even though it was clear that she was glad to see him, from her initial reaction. Looking towards Miran, she added, "This must be your wife that you mentioned the last time we talked. What did you say her name was? Minha...?" Baekhyun was surprised that his mother had a good memory for names since it had been much too long since he last talked to his mother.
Miran furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
But Baekhyun only shook his head, trying his best to seem like the comment hadn't bothered him. "No, mom. That was two years ago when I got married, and we haven't talked since then." He gestured to Miran as he gave a grim introduction. "Minha was murdered three months after that. This is Miran, she's--"
"A friend." Miran interjected before he could finish.
"Don't linger in your sadness of the past, Baekhyun-ah." His mother encouraged, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Find someone new who makes you happy. I'm sure Minha would want that for you."
He nodded, and couldn't help but glance at Miran who stood next to him.
Mrs. Byun led them inside to the living room and went to make tea for them. Miran sat next to Baekhyun, wondering what he meant when he said that he wanted her to see what she should expect from now on. It seemed to her--at the moment--that things were going great between him and his mother.
They talked for what felt like minutes, mostly Baekhyun and his mother, reliving old times. His mother had even told Miran his childhood stories, which cracked a laugh out of her. In one of them she mentioned that when they moved into the house, Baekhyun had been three years old. There was a three foot hold in the back yard full of beer cans and Baekhyun had cleared it out the moment he saw it. He filled it up with water, stripped himself naked, and claimed it was his pool. Baekhyun laughed, and hid his face with embarrassment.
Soon they lost track of time and both Baekhyun and his mother froze when they heard a car pull into the driveway. "Its your father." Mrs. Byun informed him. "He always comes back home for lunch. We lost track of time. You have to get out of here now."
Baekhyun hurried back on his feet and pulled Miran with him.
"Go hide in your old bedroom." She instructed, gesturing down the hall that led to the bedrooms.
He nodded and hurried down the hall with Miran in tow. They shut the bedroom door just as the front door opened. Miran sat down on Baekhyun's bed, chest heaving in shock. She could feel his fear upon knowing his father had arrived and she felt it as her own. He stood by the door, ear pressed to it as he tried to listen to what his parents were saying.
"Why didn't you tell me you were married?" She asked after a moment.
"Because it wasn't important." He told her with a shrug of his shoulders, ear still pressed to the door. "She's dead and gone now. A rival gang wanted to kill Hani to piss off Suho and Minha happened to be there when it happened. It was a case of mistaken identity."
Her heart felt for him. She pushed herself off his bed and went to stand by his side. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she said, "You don't have to pretend like it doesn't hurt, Light."
"Of course it hurt." He admitted to her after a minute of a hesitant silence between them. "I loved her, and we were going to have a baby. They took two people from me--two of the most important people in my life."
She finally understood why it had been so difficult for him to say it back when she told him that she loved him and the rest of the pack. In the back of his mind, he probably still thought about her. He had loved her and she was taken from him. It was probably also why he was so overprotective of her and promised to protect her from all danger.
He turned in her embrace and hugged her in return, accepting her comfort.
But the moment was cut short and both were startled when they heard the booming angered voice of a man calling his name.
"Baekhyun!"
-
more deu-ra-ma.
i literally just came up with that twist about the wife as i was writing this bc novela moments are always great in a story. and i thought it would fit nicely with what was happening in this particular scene.
anyway, i hope you're all liking the story so far. i think i'll feature lu in the next update since we've seen little to nothing of him. maybe some more ksoo and some more yixing too.
have a wonderful weekend everyone!
-clary xx
