Cycles [ChanBaek]

[Cycle 3- Reunion]

23 years later

Chanyeol stared outside the airplane window, his thirteen-year-old daughter sleeping soundly next to him with her head placed comfortably on his shoulder.

It had been a while since he last went to his country. Sure, he visited here and there with his ex-wife and two daughters through the years, but this time was different. This time, he was moving back to his country.

In a way, he was excited. While Germany had become home to him, he can't deny that he missed his birth country sometimes along with his family.

It hadn't been in his plans to move back, but he can't deny he hadn't thought of the possibility someday if the opportunity arose. After all, his entire life was made at Germany: he had a stable job, a wife and children and a dog too.

Even after the divorce, he didn't actively looked for options to move back. He was contented with what he had. When his company offered him a transfer, he weighed his options. After all, he had two daughters, though one was 18 already and well on her way to university.

After discussing it with his daughters and ex-wife -who supported him and encouraged him to take the chance- Chanyeol figured it was time. The preparations took months, as he wanted to have everything in order for when he arrived, and his sister kindly gave him a hand making the necessary arrangements.

Of course, it surprised him when his youngest, Emma, told him she wanted to go with him. She loved her mother, of course, but she always got along better with him. He discussed it with Giselle, his ex, who accepted it in good nature. Now that he was on the plane, though, wide awake despite the long trip that still awaited him, he allowed himself to reminisce on the past.

When he left his country the first time, he'd been heartbroken and he hadn't been very positive about his future. Life, though, showed him how wrong he was. Sure, at first it was tough. The language barrier, for example, was a huge problem in itself, and considering the fact that he knew no one didn't help. With time and effort, though, he worked hard to learn and to socialize and every slowly, life got much better. In fact, by the time he finished the year, he wished to stay and did all the necessary procedures to be able to accomplish this.

It was then that he met his now ex-wife, who had shown him what a healthy love could be like. He couldn't help it when he fell for her deeply. Their life was simple and their love was sincere and pure. They had two beautiful children, Mia and Emma, and learned to grow further in their careers as well as in their lives.

Life was amazing for Chanyeol and his outlook in life became good, positive, just what he'd needed after the way he'd lived back in his home country.

The love, though, didn't last. It wasn't anyone's fault per se, it just simply...happened. It had run its course and it was hard to accept at first, especially after thirteen years of marriage. Still, going their own separate ways was for the best, for the sake of themselves and their children. The least they wanted was for their relationship to turn toxic and thus, hurt their daughters further in the long run.

At first, after the process was finalized, it was hard to adapt and sure, Chanyeol had been deeply heartbroken by this because Giselle had become his best friend, his confident, his partner in crime. It was for the best, though, and with great effort, he managed to move on for his sake and that of his family's.

He sighed as he played with his daughter's hair. While Mia looked more like her mother, Emma was the living image of Chanyeol, albeit in female version and with green eyes.

His daughters were his biggest blessing and he thanked every fate for granting him such a wonderful gift.

After everything that happened in his college days, his heart had been damaged almost beyond repair, and yes, Giselle helped him move on, but his daughters were the final push he needed to feel real happiness again.