"So, now what?" Baekhyun questioned. In his mind, he could see the nightmare he was so afraid of became real. "Are you gonna turn me in?"

„Why should I?" Chanyeol asked in confusion. "Don't you understand, Baekhyun? I don't care what your name is. When I confessed, I meant it. I love the person standing in front of me. I love you."

"But you don't know me." There it was again, the part of him that constantly kept away people who loved him. The part that was afraid to be loved. The part that kept whispering he wasn't worth it.

"Do I not? I know you cook when you're sad and bake when you're happy. I know you look out for cars from both directions even when you're crossing a one-way street. I know you like it when I play with your hair. I know you always pay attention when I talk about my boring job, even though you don't have to. I know you said you don't want to have children and yet you'd always smile every time you passed by a baby."

"Do you think that's enough? Because you know how I cross the street means you know me? You don't know my family, my friends... or my past. What makes you believe you wouldn't change your mind?"

"Is that what frightens you? That I would stop loving you once I get to know you?" Chanyeol replied, his lips formed a smile, but his eyes were full of sadness. "If that were true, there would have been plenty of times when I would stop being with you?"

"Which times?" Baekhyun was almost too afraid to ask.

"The time, when I know you weren't Do Kyungsoo, when I found out you're the heir of a syndicate or when you suddenly became Rambo?" Chanyeol shrugged off Baekhyun's "stupid" question. His words seemed to affect the smaller male. Baekhyun wanted to believe this man in front of him. He really did.

"Don't you see it, Baekhyun? I didn't run away, and I won't go anywhere. So, don't be afraid. Show me every piece of you and I will love every single one."

"You say 'love' like it's nothing."

"I don't use that word inflationary. I said it because I was sure you are my soulmate and I haven't changed my mind. Beside my family I haven't said it anyone other than you."

"You haven't?"

"No, so trust me," Chanyeol insisted, "I mean it when I said I love you. What about you? Did you mean it when you said you loved me too?"

Without thinking twice Baekhyun nodded. His head wouldn't stop going up and down as if he was afraid Chanyeol wouldn't believe him. And for some reason, Chanyeol was able to read his mind. The taller gently placed his hand on Baekhyun's cheeks. Just a slight touch of Chanyeol and Baekhyun calmed down. Chanyeol's touch warmed his whole body. At that moment, Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was right. This person was his soulmate too.

"Baekhyun," the way Chanyeol called his real name, he still couldn't get used to it.

"Your father. The prison director hasn't made it public yet, but your father is badly wounded. It's a long drive. We need to go." Chanyeol reminded Baekhyun of the reason why they were having this conversation in the first place. After so many days full of anxiety, today could have been the best day since forever, if there weren't his father being stabbed. Sure, he hated his father, but which son would want his father dead?

________>> <<________

As Chanyeol said, the drive was long. Yet, being alone in a car for hours was exactly what the couple needed right now. That way they could talk about everything. Everything, really. When they arrived at the hospital, there were no more secrets between them, and they had promised each other there would never be any secret again. Never in his life had Baekhyun made a promise, which he was as determined to keep as this one.

Chanyeol thought Baekhyun would rush to the reception once they arrived, but Baekhyun was calm. They had been waiting outside of the hospital for over 10 minutes and Baekhyun hadn't said a word. Baekhyun insisted on an unobtrusive parking spot which still allowed them to have a clear sight at the entrance. At first, Chanyeol thought Baekhyun wasn't ready to see his father considering their bad relationship, but Baekhyun didn't seem to be lost in his thoughts. His eyes were too awake, observing everybody going in and out.

"Something is off," he murmured.

"What's wrong?" Chanyeol asked. He too sensed something fishy.

"I need to make a call," said Baekhyun and dialed a number that wasn't saved on his phone.

"Uncle," he greeted the person on the other end of the phone, "why am I not informed about my father?"

Chanyeol was surprised how demanded Baekhyun sounded. Baekhyun didn't say it, but his tone made it clear. He expected an explanation from his "uncle" and it better be a good one.

"I'm on my way. I'll arrive soon." And with that Baekhyun hanged up. Within a minute a group of five men gathered at the front door, clearly searching for someone. Each of them looked like they just came out of prison. It wasn't just their visible tattoos but also the way they stood, the way they walked. Even the way they look at people. Everything about them screamed 'criminal'. They weren't wearing all black like in those gangster movies but when Chanyeol looked at them, he did see the colour black. Chanyeol was a man of science, so we would never say he could feel their aura, still if he had to describe them with one single word, it must be "dark".

"That must be your welcoming committee," Chanyeol commented sarcastically.

"They work for my uncle."

"I thought your father is the leader. Wouldn't everyone work for him?"

"Theoretically yes, but that's not how it works. My uncle works for my father and those men work for my uncle and so on." Baekhyun interrupted himself with a deep sigh.

"It is...," Baekhyun hesitated to finish his sentence.

"It's a putsch," he finally stated. That was the moment Chanyeol decided to start the car and leave the hospital area.

"What are you doing?" Baekhyun protested.

"It's a trap. I need to get you out of here," replied Chanyeol, stepping on the gas.

"Chanyeol, stop the car," Baekhyun demanded.

"Baekhyun, it's clearly a trap. They got your father and now they want you." Chanyeol warned but Baekhyun didn't listen.

"I told you to stop the fucking car," Baekhyun yelled. By that Chanyeol sighed, yet still he pulled over, knowing they had reached an acceptable distance to the hospital.

"Listen, I know you're worried about your father, but just think about it for a second. The prison director hasn't reported the attack and the information was already leaked to Seoul. That means someone wanted you to know about it. It must be a trap." Chanyeol explained.

"Do you think I don't get that? My father is in jail and his only child is far away, married to a former rival. It's the perfect time for a putsch," Baekhyun said, fighting against the tears which were forming in his eyes.

"I should have known it. I should never have run away. It's my fault." Baekhyun's words were mixed with his sobbing. Seeing Baekhyun crying was something he couldn't handle. Leaning over, Chanyeol embraced his lover.

"You did nothing wrong," He tried to comfort Baekhyun. He didn't say it, but if it had to be someone's fault, then it must be his. Baekhyun wouldn't have stayed, and this wouldn't have happened if Baekhyun hadn't met him. Yes, it was immoral, still he was glad they met.

"Chanyeol, I need to go back. I have to talk to my father," Baekhyun said, letting go of Chanyeol. If it were up to him, he would stay protected in Chanyeol's embrace forever. But life was a bitch.

"I understand how you feel right now. I have been in the same situation," Chanyeol confessed, thinking of that day when a driver was suddenly sent to pick him up from school. On his ride home, even though the drive hadn't said a word, Chanyeol still knew something terrible had happened to his mother. She had been sick for a long time. Thus, in the back seat, the young boy had prayed to God. He hadn't prayed for a miracle recovery. No, all he'd asked for was the chance to say goodbye.

God hadn't heard him that day.

"But at least let me make a phone call before you decide anything, would you?" Chanyeol begged. As much as he wished for Baekhyun to be spared from the same experience he had made, he was still not putting his soulmate in danger. Considering the circumstances, one of them must stay rational. And that person couldn't be Baekhyun.

To his relief, Baekhyun agreed. It was odd, how Chanyeol knew someone who knew someone who knew another one, and the last person would be the chief of the hospital in which Baekhyun's father was brought to. This was connection on a high level.

"Are you positive?" Chanyeol confirmed a second time before hanging up. He lowered his head. His lips formed a thin line. Immediately, Baekhyun sensed something was wrong. Chanyeol didn't have to say it out loud. Baekhyun simply knew it. His father passed away.

________>> <<________

Chanyeol has always hated to be his father's child. He disliked being labeled as the minister's son. In his last high school year, Chanyeol had been brought to the hospital by an ambulance three times. The reasons were each time overworking. That was how hard he'd learned to attend his dream university, because even for a 'genius' – as people tended to call him – a study place at Cambridge required more than hard work. Thus, the day he got accepted at Cambridge was one of the best days in his life. That happiness hadn't lasted long though. After the first semester, Chanyeol had already found out about his father's abnormal generous donation to the faculty. The dean assured that the donation hadn't affected Chanyeol's application.

"If you're here, then you deserved it. You made it on your own." He said.

The next day, Chanyeol exmatriculated himself and left the city. Until then, Cambridge was something he had worked for his whole life. It had been his life goal since he could remember. But he would never know whether he would have made it on his own or not. All because he was who he was. He was his father's son.

Chanyeol's relationship with his father had never been great, since Mr. Park was a distanced person, even to his children. Yet, since Cambridge, their relationship had worsened dramatically. Chanyeol had promised himself to never make use of his father's political power.

But today he was ready to break his promise... for Baekhyun.

With his father's help, Chanyeol managed to arrange an immediate autopsy. Thus, Mr. Buyn's body was brought to the forensic doctor right away. Chanyeol wished he could have done better. Baekhyun shouldn't have said farewell to his father in a morgue, but Chanyeol couldn't let the younger walk right into a trap. At least the gang members couldn't follow them in a building that was guarded by the police.

"Try to get some sleep, ok?" Chanyeol asked as he gently laid Baekhyun down their bed, but he wasn't really expecting an answer. Baekhyun hadn't said a word since the morgue. He was paralyzed as soon as he saw his father. It was like his soul had left his body. He'd followed Chanyeol home. He'd drunk the chamomile tea that Chanyeol had made, and he'd changed into that pajama Chanyeol had given him. Still, he hadn't noticed any of that at all. His mind was blank.

Chanyeol would prefer Baekhyun to cry, yet the smaller hadn't shed a tear. But sorrow didn't always come in tears. Sometimes it was the silence that embraced the biggest pain.

Chanyeol covered Baekhyun with the blanket and laid down next to his husband. Baekhyun had neither moved nor said anything. The light was off, and the room was even darker than normal since it was new moon. Still, Chanyeol knew Baekhyun hadn't closed his eyes. Running his fingers through Baekhyun's hair, Chanyeol tried to comfort the younger. He remembered when he lost his mom, he hadn't paid attention to anything or anyone around him either. He wasn't in a mood to talk to anybody, but because he was the older brother, he had to. Otherwise, people would "target" his sister.

"How are you?"

Oh, how he hated that question. What did people expect a child who just lost his mom to answer? Good? Bad? Would the answer change their reaction? No, it wouldn't. Chanyeol had tested it.

"How are you?"

At that time, Chanyeol had learned how annoying that question could be and how tiresome it was to talk when all you wanted was silence. When his mom passed away, he was still a child. Thus, he didn't want to be alone. It was easy to confuse loneliness and silence. He needed silence but he didn't want to be alone. It would have been enough to know someone was there. But Baekhyun wasn't a child anymore.

"Do you want to be alone?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun still hadn't said a word. Yet, the moment Baekhyun reached for his hand, Chanyeol knew he was exactly where he needed to be. Right next to Baekhyun.

________>> <<________

The sunlight dazzled as Chanyeol opened his eyes. His head was spinning as for he'd slept for barely 2 hours. Rubbed his eyes, he turned his head to Baekhyun. Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun's hand still holding his, nevertheless, a ridiculous irrational part of him feared that the other side of the bed would be empty.

Looking at Baekhyun, Chanyeol breathed out in relief. Every morning he woke up to that beautiful face and he every morning he told himself how lucky he was. But today, he wasn't just happy, he was thankful. Chanyeol wasn't a believer. He wouldn't even know who he should be thankful to. He was simply grateful for another day with this person next to him.

"Have you been awake for the entire night?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun's eyes were puffed and red. The younger looked even paler than yesterday.

Baekhyun was still starring at the ceiling. The younger hadn't moved an inch, but as he felt Chanyeol's eyes on him, Baekhyun finally spoke.

"What are they gonna do after I didn't show up at the hospital?"

Hearing his lover's voice again, Chanyeol could scream in happiness.

"Let's worry about that after you got some sleep," Chanyeol suggested, though Baekhyun didn't seem to listen.

"They'll go after me, of course." The younger continued.

"You're safe here. No one knows where you are."

"That's right. I'm safe. But that'd make Kyungsoo their target." Baekhyun said as his body jumped up on its own.

Hi, is anybody on Twitter or Tumblr too? Let's follow each other.
Idk I hate the PM system here.

My ID:

Twitter: Pab0_Panda

Tumblr: pab0panda

Hope to see you there. (Ready to stalk ya)