"Baek, I told you already." Baekhyun tries to not hear every single word that comes out from his co-worker's mouth. Too much to handle, and it hurts. "Just ran away from Chanyeol with your kids. Live with me instead. I'm swearing to my soul, I could support you and your twins."

Baekhyun gazes at the clear glass window, realising it's already nighttime and he needs to finish up as soon as possible. As he watches the night, he feels a lump of saliva going down in his throat --- nervous, thinking Chanyeol might be home by now.

"B-But Taeyeon, I'm not hoping to live a comfortable life." Baekhyun deeply sighs, spraying a bit of water on the table's surface and wiping it with a cloth. Just like how he wipes the table, Baekhyun wishes he could also wipe away his emotions that easy. "I want to let my children know that they have a father. I know what it feels like---"

"What, to not have a father when you were growing up?" Taeyeon, who's helping him clean up, cuts him off and stares at him dumbly. "Baekhyun, I know it was traumatising to you not to have a father, but come to your senses."

"Chanyeol is abusive." Taeyeon starts.

Baekhyun knows where this is going, "No, don't you dare continue."

But, Taeyeon insisted. She wants him to face the horror of his life. "Chanyeol is a cheater."

"You know that ain't true." Baekhyun defends. He didn't throw any gazes on Taeyeon, instead he focused on mopping the floor.

"Chanyeol comes home drunk."

"That's normal for an eighteen year old."

"Normal? Baek, normal?" Taeyeon fires back. Her eyebrows furrowed hearing Baekhyun defend his husband at this point. "Then why can't you go drinking since this is normal for an 'eighteen year old' guy?" She says sarcastically.

"That's because I've got kids to take care of----"

"So does he. He got you impregnanted, remember?" That silenced him for a moment. Taeyeon didn't hesitated to continue.

"Chanyeol is jobless."

"I said stop!" Baekhyun pulls his hair out of frustration, letting go of the mop. His face is going red and looks like about to give in. "Chanyeol's jobless because he's waiting to get his college entrance results to come back."

"And you actually believed that? How stupid of you." Taeyeon bluntly says, ignoring his emotions. Her sharp words stabbed in Baekhyun's heart, but he pretends like it didn't. "If you only know, I saw your man once at a club, checking out sluts who dance in their underwear."

"Taeyeon, you know that wasn't him."

"Yeah right, and weren't you there?" She says sarcastically, again.

"Don't you dare retell what happened." Baekhyun wants to go deaf for a moment once Taeyeon starts to lecture him.

"When Chanyeol saw you staring at him unbelievably, he paces to our direction and pulled your hair in the public." Taeyeon crosses her arm as she could clearly remember that shameful night and how Chanyeol violently reacted. "He quickly turned the tables upside down, and put up an act as if he felt cheated."

"Taeyeon, just stop."

Taeyeon chuckles. "Chanyeol was so cranky that he even pulled your hair, causing a memorable scenery." From that night, Taeyeon decided she would stay away from Chanyeol and try her very best to protect Baekhyun. "When in fact we're just friends, and we could clearly tell with our eyes that he was the one flirting and cheating."

"Taeyeon, he thought I was cheating on him that night." Baekhyun clears out.

"Yeah, let's say just he did." She concludes. "But what about him? What was he doing that night? Flirting with girls, right?"

"You broke up with him after the incident," She sniggers. "And how did he got you back? By booking a room at a cheap hotel after school and he brought you there and that's how things got nasty."

"After three weeks, you found out you're having twins." Baekhyun, almost finishing up, couldn't take his emotions any longer. He rips the cloth using his both hands, nonetheless Taeyeon continued.

"Taeyeon, just get out." He says, "I'll finish this up myself." His heart poundering, skipping every second beat as he pictures an image of the past --- how Chanyeol pulled his hair in the club. "Mind you, stop interfering with our lives."

"Oh yeah?" Taeyeon gets rid of her apron, sliding it on the table next to Baekhyun. "I will stop unless you tell your husband to stop sucking on you and be a real man holding his responsibilities not just a dickhead who goes around drinking." In that way, she made her way to the staff room and exited the cafe.

Heaving a sigh, Baekhyun goes back to his mopping. He just shrugged Taeyeon's words off as if it was nothing, but why does it still feel heavy in his heart?

Baekhyun checks his watch that he bought few days ago. It looks old and rusty, but it didn't matter to him as long as it functions well. 9:36pm it says. "Alrighty, let's finish this up." Cheering himself up, like what he always does.

-
-
His home is just 20 minutes away from the cafe, so Baekhyun only walks. His face felt heavy and his heart skipped a beat as soon as he saw the worn out green paint of a familiar gate --- with Chanyeol furiously walking back and forth. It looks like he went home earlier than him. He heaves a fast breath and walks to him.

"Chanyeol---"

Chanyeol's eyes expanded as soon as he saw Baekhyun walking towards him. "You little piece of shit, come here." Baekhyun automatically froze in his spot, seeing Chanyeol violently pulls his hair with his bare hand. The taller drags him on the empty street. "You're late, where have you been?"

"C-Chanyeol it h-hurts!" Baekhyun cries.

"Tell me!" Chanyeol yells. "Where the fuck have you been?!"

"C-Chanyeol---"

Chanyeol chuckles. "Don't call my name like that. I don't buy that." He continues to pull Baekhyun's hair, plucking each one of it until he doesn't give him an answer he wants.

"I was working in the c-cafe, that's w-where I've b-been." Baekhyun cries, pleading on Chanyeol to let go.

"You son of a bitch," his eyes fires in hell. "Don't play with me. You must be doing something more than that."

Chanyeol's grip gets tighter and tighter, enough for Baekhyun to go bald. "W-What do y-you mean..."

"You sure you don't go around having  fun with guys?" Baekhyun gets what he meant, "You sure you didn't go around sucking dicks?"

"C-Chanyeol, I s-swear I d-didn't..."

"Say that again," With an eerie grin on his face, Chanyeol loves it when he hears Baekhyun beg for forgiveness. "Say it enthusiastically just like how you moan for someone's dick."

"C-Chanyeol, I didn't!" Baekhyun pleads. Chanyeol shrugged it off as if he didn't hear anything. Chanyeol couldn't control himself anymore, and caused violence again.

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol's fist full of force came striking towards his right cheek. He was taken back on how fast Chanyeol's fist moved. He stood there bewildered, and his legs tremble, resulting for his head to bounce off violently the ground followed by his body.

Baekhyun witnessed his vision spinning, until he no longer could hear his husband's intimidated cries nor sense his panicking actions. His eyes barely managed to keep them open, and that's when he passed out.