Following the Broken Road Back to You

Part 1

The sky seemed grim the day Baekhyun received news of his father's accident, hindering him temporarily disabled. It seemed almost ridiculous (in fact, it was ridiculous) that the old man made the extraordinary request to call his son back to the country. Baekhyun had made plans to request time off from his job as a professional model in order to tend to his father's needs for a short while, but along with the request to return home, his father also requested that he take over the family business during the recovery process.

Dirt, dirt, mud, and more dirt. Those were the only things circulating Baekhyun's mind as he packed the night before his departure. Of course, he found nothing wrong with farming. It fed and gave people something to indulge with in times of heartbreak and sadness, but that life was rather off-putting to him. Running a farm, working a tractor, milking cows, and feeding animals weren't his thing. It just wasn't, and it was probably for those reasons that he left at the age of twenty-one, moving out to stake a claim on his dreams.

His actions came about with no soft, merciful sacrifices. When Baekhyun left, he left behind his friends, family, and his first love, Park Chanyeol. Chanyeol wasn't flawless in his nature, but at the time, Baekhyun felt as though he was perfect. It wasn't easy to move on, and for the first couple of years, he had to mend his heart over the heartbreak. But it was necessary, in his mind, to lose those things for what he considered as the greater good. After a while, however, Chanyeol and everything else that had to do with the town that he left behind began to fade in the past.

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As he walked up to his parents' land, the mud from the rain the night before was beginning to chunk their existence at the bottom of Baekhyun's boots. He cursed, muttering about how they were completely useless. Just beyond the white, two-story house that sat near the cracked road, was everything that Baekhyun is tasked to tend for the next two months during his father's recovery. Lifting his nose, he could almost smell the animals and tractor oil in the air. It wasn't pleasant.

He knocked on the door, waiting on the newly renovated porch with his suitcases and cellphone in hand, which, to his anger, could get no signal or bars no matter what he did or who he prayed to. Baekhyun began tapping his foot, wondering why his parents hadn't set up a door bell system. In his opinion, it would've made his presence known much more loudly than his feeble knuckles making quiet and droned sounds by hitting the door.

When the door finally opens, he was met by his mother who quickly unlatched the screen door to hug him on the porch. "You're finally here! Come in. You can take your shoes off, honey. You shouldn't have worn shoes like those. Combat boots may be fashionable with those city folks, but they're like mud magnets around here."

Baekhyun feigned a smile as he pulled away, eager to move away from his mother's unintentional criticism of his choice in style. "Where's dad?"

"He's in the living room with a guest," she answered, taking hold of one of both of his suitcases. "Come on, now. I made your favorite dish in the kitchen."

Nodding, Baekhyun proceeded to bend down and unlace his boots, reminding himself to clean it as soon as he could before the mud crusted over. Leaving his shoes outside, he entered the house he had known for so long and was hit with a familiar face.

"Baekhyun!" his father proclaimed, calling him over.

Ignoring the man who sat close to his father, Baekhyun smiled and approached him, giving his old man a decent hug. "Hi, dad. How's the broken arm and leg?"

"It's fine," his father replied, waving him off with his unbroken hand. "The doc said I'd be alright after a while as long as I stay put."

Knowing that he couldn't ignore the man forever, Baekhyun sucked up his pride and turned to his ex. "Hi, Chanyeol."