Roulette ♧ 엑소

t h i r t y t w o

$ t h i r t y t w o $

Sunjoo had called Miran and Jiyeon that morning to let them know that she would be running late to the cafe. She had informed her husband too with more detail and he gave the two girls his spare key to the shop. He asked them to open the place up and continue their work as they normally would. Sunjoo would be joining them later that morning. Miran and Jiyeon hoped that she was okay, but they didn't think it was their place to pry into their personal lives. 

Minho's wife finally arrived two hours later, with a baby in her arms and a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. The baby was a little boy who at most looked to be around three years old. Sunjoo had been on the phone with Minho as she entered the shop and the girls were able to catch the last of her conversation with him. "The daycare said they couldn't take him because he's got the chicken pox, and his usual baby sitter wasn't able to watch him on such short notice. So I had to bring him with me to work. The day nurse isn't equipped to watch over her and the baby." There was a pause while she listened to him over the phone. "I know, I know. But what can I do? I'll see you tonight, baby. Love you."

She heaved a sigh and greeted the two girls with a friendly smile. "Morning girls."

Miran and Jiyeon greeted her in unison. "Morning, Sunjoo unnie."

"Don't tell me you and Minho oppa have a son? How precious, he's just adorable." Miran guessed, taking in the little boy's appearance. He didn't look much like either of them, but if she had to find a similarity, she thought he resembled Minho slightly. She thought he resembled someone else even more, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Sunjoo quickly confirmed with a nod of her head. "Yup. This little boy is our pride and joy."

"What's his name?" Jiyeon wondered, a smile on her lips.

"Yunkyum." Sunjoo informed them. "He's named after Min's dad."

She held the child in her arms and placed the diaper bag on the counter. At the moment they didn't have many customers at the shop. It mostly got busier around lunch time. 

Sunjoo took the child into her office and Miran followed after her with the diaper bag. The owner of the cafe unpacked the bag and pulled out a blanket for the child to sit on. Then she got out some toys for him to play with and keep his distracted while she worked. She had also informed the girls that she would be closing early that day so that she could properly take care of her son. 

As Miran watched the baby, she felt a warmth in her heart, already wanting to hold her own child in her arms. A little boy that would be hers and Baekhyun's.

-

It was the nurse's job to watch over the patient in the bed at Sunjoo and Minho's house during the day. During the night, Sunjoo would watch over her and sometimes Minho did as well. The nurse was there to replace her IV fluids, clean her sheets, change her bed pan, and bathe her. Otherwise, it was a rather easy job. The patient was in a comatose state and never moved. 

Her nurse had been sitting by her side, flipping through a gossip magazine when she heard light movement from the patient bed. She didn't give it a second thought, thinking it to be a breeze coming in through the window.

But then she heard it again, this time a bit louder.

She looked to the patient to witness as her eyes opened quickly and wide, and she sucked in a deep breath as though she was coming back to life. Her heart monitor sped up for the briefest of a few seconds, but then settled back down as her heart rate returned to normal. Her eyes darted everywhere frantically, not recognizing where she was. Last she remembered, she had been somewhere else, with people she knew and cared about. 

Startled, the nurse had shot up from her chair and watched her carefully. 

The patient's lips quivered as she tried to get out one single word, finding it difficult to do so. Her body hadn't moved in years, and she would need therapy to regain her movements. 

It took about a minute for her lips to utter a sound.

And it was a word that made no sense to her nurse, but made perfect sense to her. "Light..."

-

Iva refused to see Tao for several days and he had her food delivered to her by either Mariel or Hyuna. Yifan didn't want Ciel to get involved with his business. He knew plenty about her life to know that she had suffered enough and he wanted to shield her from everything. Ciel had assured him though that his problems would be hers to share as well because they were a couple and they loved each other. Still, he didn't want her to get involved.

A week after Iva's supposed funeral, Tao went to go see her. She looked up at him, blue eyes cold with resentment that he had taken part in all of it. She felt like she had been played. She felt like a fool for trusting and caring about him.

"Get out." She said to him before he could even get a chance to speak.

"I just want to talk to you." He tried to explain.

But she didn't want to listen to him. She thought all she would get from him was more lies and deceit. "You got what you wanted, so just kill me already. No one cares about me anymore."

"I fucked up, Iva, I know." He admitted to her with a sigh. He wasn't trying to excuse himself. He merely wanted to let her know that he was genuinely sorry. "But this is my job. This is what I do for a living, and my pack needed the money. I didn't know that I was gonna fall in love with you. Just know that I would never hurt you. That's why I faked your death. I couldn't and I won't pull the trigger on you."

She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him. Though she couldn't deny that her words were getting to her. He had spared her life after all.

"My duizhang has agreed to make you a part of our family, only if you want to join us." He informed her. A part of him was really hoping that she would decide to stay. He wasn't very keen on the thought of letting her go now that he had her and she was essentially free. "If not, I'll help you go wherever you want. I got you a new identity so that Jian will never be able to find you."

"Why'd you go through all that trouble for me?" She asked, the resentment in her eyes had dissipated slightly.

"I really like you." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, like it was no big deal. "And I thought it was unfair what he did to you. You cared about him, and all he did was marry you for your money. You deserve better than that."

Iva felt her eyes pooling up with tears. She knew his words were genuine and that he wasn't sweet talking her for the money like Jian did because now she had nothing. She was poor as dirt and was thought to be dead. Yet he was telling her that he loved her and was offering her a home with his family. 

He offered his hand for her to take and she eyed it for a moment.

"We all know how you feel." He continued, trying to convince her. "Most of my brothers and I were abandoned by our families. But we'll never abandon each other."

He had finally convinced her and she took his hand. He helped her get back on her feet and gathered her books for her. "I'll show you to your room, and then you can meet the rest of the family."

-

im always stirring up drama in this story, at every turn. i bet you all know who's back, but im not saying any names for the time being. i might update another chapter tonight, if i finish my cheer bows. 

tomorrow is the mcd's company picnic and i told my boss i would make big flashy cheer bows for the girls. and i have only finished like 3, and i need to make 20. 

thank you all so much for reading and supporting me. it means a lot.

-clary