$ t w e n t y s i x $
Every morning since Hani had been forced to move to China with Yifan, Hyuna woke up at the same time as her husband to keep him company during breakfast, then the two would head for their duizhang's house together. Minseok would head off to work with Yifan, while Hyuna would stay with Hani all day until her husband could return for her. They spent most of their time talking, reliving old memories of their childhood, since they couldn't leave the house on Yifan's orders.
He didn't trust Hani yet and was afraid that she would leave him if he gave her the freedom to leave the house. Hyuna had heard from Minseok that he would soon assign Jongdae and Yixing to be her guards, but both were back in Korea at the moment.
Yixing was in charge of managing the casino, and traveled back and forth between China and Korea very often. Jongdae had very generously offered up himself to help his hyung with the casino's management. He still hadn't let anyone know that he was seeing Mariel because he was still unsure how the coven would take it. He also didn't know how Mariel felt about him, or if she was just doing her job--loving him for the money that he paid in exchange for her company. Either way, he was afraid to ask, not wanting that happiness he felt when he was around her to end.
Jongdae informed his leader of the Coyotes' intent to form an alliance with him a few days after they sought him out at The End of the Night.
Yifan instructed him to let them know that he would agree to meet with them, as long as they were the ones who traveled. He demanded that the coyotes go to China to see him because he didn't want to take Hani back to Korea, and he didn't want to leave her alone at his house.
Both sides eventually came to an agreement and a date was set.
Hyuna was in her bed that morning while her husband was in the shower. For the most part, she didn't mind waking up early to spend some time with Minseok before he would go to work. But in the winter time, she absolutely dreaded getting out of bed. Even the heaters in the house were no match for the cold that made the house feel as icy as a refrigerator because of the tiled floors.
Her husband walked out of the bathroom moments later with a towel wrapped around his waist and using another to dry his wet hair, a cloud of steam spreading out into the room. When he saw that she was awake, he smiled at her and blew her a kiss. Then he walked over to the closet to pick out his clothes for the day. The steam coming from the bathroom was so thick that it almost looked like fog. Minseok had always been the kind to get cold easily and always showered with water so hot, that Hyuna often joked that he would soon become a boiled vegetable.
"Why haven't you gotten out of bed yet?" He asked her as he got dressed, letting the towel fall to the floor.
Hyuna groaned in continuation of her lie. "Cramps."
She pulled on the most convincing pained face she could manage and she saw his face scrunch up into a frown. He slipped his shirt on after his pants and clipped the buttons on it one by one. He didn't turn towards her again until he was fully dressed. Minseok knelt down to pick up the towel and tossed it in the laundry basket in the bathroom.
"You're not visiting Hani, then?" He wondered, trying to make conversation with her.
Minseok always tried to hard to have a conversation with her whenever they had time alone. He was always at work with Yifan and the coven and only got to see his wife early in the morning before leaving, and then late in the afternoon after coming back. On some nights he was just so tired that he'd drift off to sleep on the couch after getting back home. On other nights he was on the brink of sleep at work because he hadn't slept the previous night. It was difficult to have a married life, with a job like the one he had. But she was patient with him, and he loved her more for that.
He walked to the mirror next and grabbed a brush from nearby to comb out his hair. Out of all the members of the pack, Minseok was third in command, which meant that he got to do the easier jobs. He and Lu Han handled the money, and the businesses. The three younger members--Yixing, Jongdae, and Tao--handled all the jobs that required any form of physical labor. Minseok preferred it, but it meant that he had to wear a suit and tie to work every day.
His wife shook her head, pulling the covers over her face to stifle another groan. "I'll visit her later today when I feel better."
When he was ready, he walked over to their bed and leaned in, pulling the covers away from her to expose her face. Placing a kiss on her lips, he informed her, "What do you want to eat, baby? Your husband will make anything you want since you're sick and he's feeling generous. He wants to coddle you and bring you breakfast in bed." He grinned at her, adding after a few seconds, "I'll also call duizhang to let him know you can't visit Hani today."
Hyuna couldn't help but smile at his offer.
Hani's request was coming with a few advantages. She thought about it for a moment until something came to her mind. "I want yumilgwa and milk." She told him.
"That's not breakfast." He pointed out immediately, hoping to deter her.
Yumilgwa was her favorite food. It was a fried pastry that was made with grain flour and honey. The finished product was then drizzled with honey and nuts. When they first moved to China with Yifan and she was homesick, he had made them for her on a daily basis because they reminded her of home.
Eventually he dreaded making them and swore he'd never prepare them for her again. The only times he would do it were around the holidays.
"You said anything, baozi." She jutted out her bottom lip in a pout.
"Ah." He threw his head back in a groan. "I did say that, but--"
"Don't go back on your word, baby." She wiggled her index finger at him, her words took on a playful, yet scolding tone. "Its not manly." He and Lu Han always talked about how a man who went back on his word was not a real man.
She used the same sentence that Mei Lin used on Lu Han whenever she wanted him to do something. More often than not, it seemed to work on them. The funny thing about their relationship was that Mei Lin liked to brag that she was more manly than he was. She was more athletic, since she had grown up playing football all her life, and was surprisingly stronger than him, and with a higher pain tolerance--all things that she attributed to her upbringing as an athlete.
Minseok finally sighed in defeat but said nothing. Giving her a final peck on the lips, he stomped out of the room and went to the kitchen to prepare her their breakfast. As he left the room, she shouted at him, testing her luck. "And when you get home this afternoon I want a strip show!"
He made yumilgwa for her, and prepared a proper breakfast for himself, which he ended up sharing with Hyuna because she kept eyeing his plate of food until he offered her some.
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since this chapter is pretty filler and i dragged it out longer than i intended, i'll update later tonight. also if chivas wins their game tonight against pumas (marking 35 years of chivas domination over pumas in gdl), i'll update twice tomorrow.
pumas has not been able to defeat chivas in guadalajara (chivas' hometown) for THIRTY FOUR years. if chivas wins tonight, it will be THIRTY FIVE years.
so we're all hoping chivas wins again.
thank you all loads for reading and supporting. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and i hope you all have a wonderful start of the new semester!
-clary xx
