Chapter Text
Wonhee doesn’t know how to feel.
Should she feel betrayed by her mother who decided it’s best to invite Baekhyun for their mother-daughter dinner without consulting with her first? Should she feel scared of facing Baekhyun again after disappearing from his world in the last nine years without leaving any message or a simple explanation? Should she feel thankful to her mother for arranging this lovely surprise because it reunited her with the love of her life?
Wonhee feels as if she just got hit by a tsunami, her emotions overwhelming her to the point that—
“Wonhee, darling, are you alright? You’re turning green—”
She holds her hand up, signing to her mother that she needs to leave. “I’m sorry. Just—”
Wonhee bolted towards the girls’ bathroom and locked herself inside a cubicle where she dumped the contents of her stomach.
This was not how she expected to act when she meets Baekhyun again after a long time.
Letting her mind speak Baekhyun’s name again made her feel her nausea return that she vomited once more. Wonhee feels a bit disgusted with the way she’s kneeling on the floor, her whole body covered with cold sweat because of her mother’s surprise.
She knows she has to get back there, but how could she if facing Baekhyun makes her want to barf?
Wonhee groans at how pathetic she is at the moment. She hates herself for acting this way—she looked so weak, as if she doesn’t have any backbone when she had been so brave to sacrifice herself to save the family’s crumbling reputation.
She pushed herself on her feet and flushed down the toilet’s contents. Wonhee slowly made her way to the sink, and was flabbergasted to see her defeated reflection stare back at her. The horrified look on her face forced her to break her connection with her reflection. She swears she look worse than when their scandal broke out years ago.
It’s been nine years, she shouldn’t be this affected.
Wonhee looks up again, meeting her reflection this time with a determined gaze. “You can do this,” she mutters to herself.
It’s a good thing the bathroom is empty or else she would’ve looked like she’s out of her mind because she’s talking to her own reflection. But she needed this pep talk. She needed to convince herself that she is indeed ready to hold a proper conversation with Baekhyun again. That she’s now ready to face the things she left behind.
She can do this. Besides, she’s been able to keep up her unbeatable, strong facade for the past nine years. Surely she can keep it up for far longer.
She takes another deep breath before making her way outside. She kept her eyes trained on the floor, her mind going empty because of her current predicament.
Because of her getting so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the pair of shiny, black shoes that were right in front of her own two feet if it wasn’t for its owner speaking to break her out of her self-induced trance.
“You’re really good at leaving in the worst times, Kang Wonhee.”
Hearing the judgment in Baekhyun’s voice gave Wonhee that boost of courage she badly needed to meet his chocolate eyes. “And I see you’re still full of prejudice.”
“I wouldn’t say my statement is prejudiced when it’s backed up with historical data.” Baekhyun smugly replies, crossing his muscled arms in front of his chest as he arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow at her.
Baekhyun - 1, Wonhee - 0.
Wonhee swallowed the guilt that slowly crept its way on her throat at what Baekhyun implied. She raised her chin in an attempt to display an unfazed reaction. “A one-time event is an inconclusive evidence, Byun Baekhyun.”
“But it didn’t just happen once, Kang Wonhee. Don’t deny it.”
Baekhyun - 2, Wonhee - 0.
There’s nothing she can say that will make her win against Baekhyun’s argument. However, Wonhee’s pride will never let her bow down to Baekhyun’s judgmental attacks.
She admits she made a huge mistake, but surely there’s a way for her to make amendments, right? That’s why she decided to return even though she knew she still wasn’t fully ready to come back home. After everything that happened between her and Baekhyun, Wonhee admits that she expected a bit of Baekhyun’s forgiveness when they see each other again.
Looks like she disappointed herself, and she’ll be disappointed more in the long run.
“What brings you here?” Wonhee steps down, not bothering to argue anymore.
She starts walking back to the private room because with Baekhyun trailing her, it means that her mother’s left by herself there. Also, she’s hungrier than ever. Puking her guts out has given her an appetite of two persons and she needed to satiate her hunger as soon as possible.
“Mom told me to check on you since you were so green a while ago,” Baekhyun answers her question, this time, placing his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Is my face really that disgusting to you?”
Wonhee outrightly rolls her eyes at Baekhyun even though she’s aware that it’s one of his pet peeves. Why should she mind? The last time she checked, they’re not exactly in ‘talking terms’ anymore. “It’s jet lag. It’s just a coincidence that you’re there when my stomach decided it was the right time for me to empty all of its contents.”
Baekhyun lets out a soft hum. “Well, mom’s really worried so—” They almost collided into one another when Wonhee abruptly stops in her tracks.
“What the hell.”
Wonhee turns around and faces Baekhyun with fire in her eyes. “Why do you keep calling my mother ‘mom’? In case you forgot, our parents are already divorced so she’s not technically your mother anymore!”
It annoyed Wonhee even more when Baekhyun laughs at her outburst, making her feel as if she’s not being taken seriously by the person she’s speaking with. “I’m being serious right now, Baekhyun. Why the hell are you laughing at me?”
“I’m laughing because you’re such a clown,” Baekhyun calms down, traces of his laugh still evident in his plump lips. “In case you also forgot, I’ve acted more as her child than you for the past nine years. Surely that earns me the right to still call her mom after the divorce, right?”
Baekhyun - 3, Wonhee - 0.
K.O.
Wonhee avoided Baekhyun’s piercing eyes and turns back again to avoid his gaze. She exhaled a sigh of relief when she sees the door to the private room because all she wanted at the moment was to stop spending time alone with Baekhyun right now. She can’t deal with having a private conversation with him because Wonhee can already envision herself getting on her knees to beg for his utmost forgiveness.
She thought she managed to leave her behind with her brisk walking only to catch herself with a surprised gasp when she felt his hot breath behind her left ear.
Baekhyun whispers using that damn low voice of his, “Cat got your tongue, little strawberry?”
Wonhee turns rigid as she heard Baekhyun use his term of endearment for her when they first met before their parents’ marriage. She didn’t have the chance to retort because Baekhyun left her alone, mouth open as he closed the door at her face.
“Baekhyun here is such a sweetheart,” Kang Sohee says for the tenth time.
Yes, Wonhee has been keeping count of how many times her mother complimented Baekhyun this evening. She already doesn’t know what to expect of her mother since she opened the door and found two persons waiting for her before starting dinner. However, she least expected that she will be forced to swallow her food while hearing her own mother give endless praises to her former stepson.
Wonhee was sixteen years old when her mother announced that she’s finally getting married. After being left to manage motherhood on her own when they discovered her unwanted pregnancy, Kang Sohee was able to find herself a better man who would take care of her and her daughter too.
It was a bonus that Wonhee’s new stepfather also has a son who’s only two years older than her. Well, it wasn’t really a good thing for Wonhee because she wasn’t fond of sharing the house with not just one but two new intruders in ther lives. But for her mother, it was a good thing because it only meant their once two-person family was finally growing into four.
“Now, tell us about yourself, darling.” Hearing her mom’s voice brought Wonhee back to the present.
Wonhee looks up from her plate of seafood pesto, only to meet eyes once more with Baekhyun.
Is that genuine curiosity on his face? Wonhee’s forehead crinkled as she tried to read more about Baekhyun’s expression, only to give up because her mother repeated the question.
She removes her eyes from Baekhyun against her will. “There’s nothing to say, mom.”
“You’ve been gone for nine years, surely you have a lot of stories to entertain us.” Wonhee did not miss the challenge in Baekhyun’s voice.
Her mom, ever the pacifier. “Well, you don’t have to share if you feel uncomfortable, darling.”
“Why would she feel uncomfortable? You’re her mother, for God’s sake.”
Wonhee closed her eyes at Baekhyun’s retort. She can already feel a headache coming if he keeps this up.
“Baekhyun, dear, let’s not force Wonhee to speak, okay? We wouldn’t want her to feel cornered.”
“Great, keep spoiling her, Mom.” Baekhyun just wouldn’t keep quiet. He’s always been this stubborn.
Wonhee can’t keep quiet anymore because for some reason, she finds Baekhyun insulting with what he’s insinuating with her mother. “If you have something to say, say it in front of my face.”
“Baekhyun, stop. Let’s just get through this dinner peacefully, okay?” Wonhee’s mom was already pleading at this point but Baekhyun isn’t listening. In fact, the hate in his eyes intensified as he shot daggers at Wonhee.
“If you keep babying her, she’s just going to leave us all again.” Baekhyun punctuates each of his words with hate that burns Wonhee from the inside as she listens to him go on. “She’s an adult now; she should learn something else aside from running away and leaving us all to sort through her mess.”
“Her mess?” Wonhee repeats, her brows meeting at Baekhyun’s words. “It wasn’t just my mess. It was also yours!”
Seeing Baekhyun look so attacked fuels Wonhee’s irritation more. “Just shut up. You don’t know anything about what happened to me all these years.”
“Well, newsflash: you also don’t know what happened to us since you’re not the one who got left behind with not even a single word after being promised that no matter what happens, we stay together!” There was nothing else anyone can do to make Baekhyun calm down. Wonhee’s mom remains silent, defeated because she can’t do anything to help douse the fire burning between her two beloved children.
Wonhee, on the other hand, has no idea what to say. She knew she wasn’t the only one who hurt. Seeing Baekhyun explode like this today only reminds her of the consequences of her past decisions.
Baekhyun stands up to leave. “I’m sorry, mom. This is a bad idea.” He kisses the older woman’s cheek before going straight for the door, not even looking back at least once.
The silence that follows is deafening.
”Be on your best behavior, darling. I want you and Baekhyun to get along well.”
Wonhee didn’t voice out her agreement to her mother’s request since she didn’t want to give out an empty promise. What she didn’t understand was why her mother was so keen to acquaint her with her soon-to-be stepfather and soon-to-be stepbrother. Sooner or later, they’re going to be living together so why push the meeting so early? She’s not even in the mood to socialize right now given that she didn’t do that well in her recently concluded midterms. All she wanted to do was to trap herself inside her bedroom and to just sleep all her worries away.
The car they were inside stopped, signaling that they were already outside the restaurant. Wonhee reached out to open the door, only to be stopped by her mother who has something to say, again.
“Kang Wonhee,” her mother sounded stern, like she’s not someone to mess with or else she’s going to mess Wonhee’s life so bad if things did not go her way. “Am I understood?”
“Yeah,” Wonhee nodded against her will, “I’m not deaf. I heard you the first time, mom.”
But her mother didn’t believe her. “I said, am I understood?”
Wonhee immediately acquised, raising her hands in surrender. “I said I understood! What else do you want to hear from me?”
Her mother sighed, not really knowing what to do with her anymore. She went on to open the door and lead Wonhee inside the restaurant to where their soon-to-be family were already waiting for them to arrive.
As soon as the two of them reached the father-son pair, Wonhee’s mom quickly greeted the man with a peck on the lips. Wonhee had to cover her mouth to hide her cringe at the pair’s public display of affection.
A snicker on the side caught her attention, surprised to see a boy who’s around the same age as her—who she assumed to be Baekhyun—also doing his best to hide his genuine reaction at the adults, and failing miserably.
Their eyes met, and for some reason, seeing each other cringing at their parents put a tentative smile on their faces.
When they were all seated, a server brought them menus to choose their orders from. As usual, Wonhee let her mother decide for her since she wasn’t really familiar with the food being served in fancy restaurants like the one they’re in. Truth be told, she preferred to eat simply rather than spending money for a fancy five-course meal that she wouldn’t even end up filling full.
“So, you must be Wonhee.” The man who her mother kissed a while ago offered his hand for Wonhee to shake. “I’m Byun Muntaek, and this is my son,” he motioned towards the boy sitting besides him, “Byun Baekhyun. It’s nice to finally meet you, Wonhee.”
Wonhee tentatively accepted Muntaek’s hand and shook it with less vigor. “The pleasure’s mine, sir.”
Muntaek subtly poked Baekhyun’s side, the action catching Wonhee’s eagle eyes. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
Wonhee hummed in response, receiving a silent command from her mother to be on her best behavior.
But she was on her best behavior! What more did her mother want from her?
The adult couple went on to talk about how their respective days went, leaving the two teenagers silent by themselves. Wonhee would do her best to sneak little glances at Baekhyun, searching for any hidden sign of trouble that she could use to force her mother to let her remain in their house instead of moving in with the Byuns.
Wonhee sipped from her glass of water and tried to sneak another glance again, and almost choked as she found Baekhyun’s eyes openly watching her instead.
“What are you looking at?” She croaked, not really a fan of being scrutinized outright by a person she just met.
Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, not hiding the way he was studying her as well. “How old are you?”
“That’s not really a good question to ask someone during the first meeting.”
Amusement filled Baekhyun’s face at Wonhee’s response. “You’re interesting.”
Wonhee didn’t even try to hide the way she’s displeased with Baekhyun’s attitude. “If you’re looking for something interesting, then you should’ve went to the zoo instead of joining us for dinner.” She added with a sarcastic smile.
Much to her surprise, Baekhyun laughed loudly, earning their parents’ attention.
Muntaek asked his son for the reason behind his glee, only for Baekhyun to respond: “I like her, dad. I can already imagine how fun things will be once they move in with us.”
”I’m glad to see you two are getting along well,” Sohee, Wonhee’s mother, commented. “You see, sometimes it’s hard to connect with my daughter especially when she’s in such a foul mood.”
Wonhee frowned at what her mother just said. “Mom! You’re supposed to be on my side. Why are you badmouthing me in front of strangers?”
“They’re not strangers, darling.” Sohee gave a charming smile to her fiance. “They’re going to be your new family.”
Wonhee couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her mother’s words.
“That’s rude.” Baekhyun remarked, making Wonhee pause for a second.
“I don’t care.” Wonhee responded with the same amount of dislike for the boy.
Baekhyun stood with a groan. “Okay, dad, I take it back. This is a bad idea.” He then proceeded to take his leave to go to the restroom, leaving Wonhee alone to be lectured by the two adults.
It was safe to say that Wonhee’s comeback dinner was a momentous failure.
The only good thing she got out of it was her hunger completely disappeared.
Before she and her mother exited the car, Wonhee spoke her piece. “You shouldn’t do that again, mom.”
“Is it that bad for me to help you two make up?”
Wonhee shakes her head, “It will never happen, mom. He hates me.”
“Darling,” her mom reached out to take her hand, “Baekhyun doesn’t hate you. He just needs more time to process your return, but believe me when I say that like me, he wants nothing else but for you to come back home to us.”
Her mother’s words only left bitterness in her lips. “Mom, drop it. Besides, what he said was true. I promised him that no matter what happens, I’d stay. But at the end, I broke that promise I made. I deserve his hate the same way I deserve yours.”
“Oh, I could never hate you.” Wonhee melts at the way her mother sounded so genuine as their eyes met. “You’re my daughter; I’ll always love you no matter what.”
“And I’m no one to him,” Wonhee says, her heart breaking as the ruthlessness of the truth slams its way into her chest. “So, please, don’t do that again. Family’s supposed to stay especially when things get hard, and I did the complete opposite. You have to accept that we’re not going to make up no matter what.”
She believed the conversation was already over when her mother decided to drop a bomb.
“But Baekhyun is more than family for you.”
Wonhee’s eyes become wide, blood draining out of her face as quickly as the speed in which her mother spoke the truth.
She continued, “And you were more than just family to him as well.”
“Were.” Wonhee stopped her mother before she says something that will break her even more than she already was. “It’s all in the past, mom, so you have to move on. I’ve already moved on, and so should you.”
Wonhee opens the door, leaving her poor mother behind as she raced towards their house. She doesn’t want to talk about their past. She’s already had enough with what happened during the dinner. She can’t deal with more of it before the day ends. She needs to rest.
“You know why I divorced Muntaek, right?”
“Of course, I do.” Wonhee replied with a rueful chuckle. “That bastard cheated on you. For all I know, Baekhyun took care of you because he felt guilty about what his father did to you.”
“Oh, darling.” Her mother placed one hand on Wonhee’s left arm. “Now that you’re back, you should get out there. You missed a lot, you know? As much as I want to, I can’t feed you all the answers to your unsaid questions. By the end of it all, I hope you’d also set your pain aside and hold a proper conversation with Baekhyun. You both deserve peace.”
Peace. Wonhee loaths that word. She never knew the true meaning of peace from the very moment her mother decided to pour all her time into the bank.
“I’m going to bed,” was all she said as she made her way into her bedroom to temporarily forget everything that has happened on the day of her eventual return.