11:50.
the next morning, she'd stayed,
and baekhyun had woken to that same feeling of legs entwined comfortably between his and an arm resting against his waist. like the last few mornings. he'd smiled.
light ever-present. some things don't change.
he'd tried not to think too much. otherwise;
he knew what would happen.
and, of course, roma had been as beautiful as ever. sun rays slanting across her slender features, dotting her eyelids, patterning her cheeks, specks of light dancing across her pale skin.
he hadn't had long before she'd roused herself, too, stretching her limbs, yawning softly. roma, whose heart thudded at the prospect of proximity, whose eyes darted nervously in different directions at the idea of having to look directly at someone, was staring straight at him, eyes big and blue, black lashes framing her sapphire orbs.
an aspect of her that he'd grown fond of; he was used to her usual little flusters and darting vision.
in contrast to that image, baekhyun was pleasantly surprised as she had reached an arm over to leave a whisper of a touch against his fading bruises. her small finger had traced a delicate line across one of the particularly larger cuts, baekhyun watching as her mouth hung slightly open, perhaps in awe or astonishment. or fear, maybe.
but any fears that she may have held somehow didn't fit in with the brightening aura of the day. somehow, they never did. the blissful seeping through of light reflected upon the two of their moods, as roma had sleepily continued her path, a hand bravely trailing down the plain of his neck to reach the sharp juxtaposition of his collar bones to his fragile and bronzed skin.
the brick walls of his apartment couldn't contain the memory of her gentle and unsure lips against his, her lack of experience evident as he'd held her as close to him as he could, recalling the events of the previous evening, the desire he'd had to kiss her shuddering throughout his body at the relief of tension.
she'd looked so perfect last night. an angel; white dress and shining eyes. legs crossed, observing every word, every vowel, he'd spoken. and she'd kissed him back, clutching his neck, his hair, tasting his lips as if it had been her first time.
a small part of him couldn't help but hope that it had been.
in the light, she whispered a good morning, a phrase that was filled with a calm and caring tone, one that warmed baekhyun, causing him to sit himself up in order to take her in fully.
her rested form, minimally clothed in only one of his old t-shirts and her underwear, lay comfortably, her legs matching the fragile material of the bed sheets. dark hair splayed out over the cushions. eyes shut momentarily.
once she'd realised that he was looking--properly looking--she'd blushed that cute pinkish colour that baekhyun had grown to become accustomed to. he'd chuckled, never leaving his fixated gaze from her curved body.
"baekhyun," she'd breathed out, voice laden with sleep, grabbing the ends of his own t-shirt. trying to capture his attention. wanting him not to focus on the bare entirety of her flawless skin. goddess.
he'd leant down and pressed a heavy kiss to her lips, an action that, he could sense, caught her off-guard. it was morning, and exhaustion still encompassed her movements, but baekhyun wanted to touch her, drink every last bit of her in,
because he wasn't sure how long this whole thing would last.
he'd slowly grabbed her arms, placing them around his neck as he'd pushed his tongue into her mouth, a gruff and low moan escaping from between his lips. she'd tasted like stardust, like the setting sun in the night sky and the night before. so soft.
they'd both pulled away, needing to catch their breaths.
and baekhyun had grinned widely, roma having reciprocated the gesture with a light blush and a small smile.
"come on, let's go," he whispered into the shell of her ear.
baekhyun knew that he was playing a dangerous game.
he'd already let it go too far.
//
"he really likes you, you know."
roma was perched on the stool next to the counter, hair draped over one side of her shoulder; still occupied by the crinkle of kai's papers beneath her fingers and the fascinating scrawl of ink on paper. the midday atmosphere filled every space of the room with brightness, the white walls of baekhyun's flat surrounding them.
but her posture sat up as soon as kai, who was lying, shirtless, on the sofa, uttered those words. her eyes found his, although his reclined disposition matched his calm nature and tone, his eyes shut tiredly.
"who?" she questioned stupidly. immediately turning her head back to his writing.
"baekhyun," he sighed. she could tell he was probably grinning.
roma smiled shyly to herself.
"really."
"yeah," kai spoke, bringing his arm around to rest the back of his head on.
roma stopped focusing on reading, instead, tried to stop herself from reacting to his comment.
"what makes you say that?"
childish question. the kind of thing you ask your friends in high school when they tell you the cute boy in your history class has a crush on you, and you pretend to be unaffected.
somehow, this feeling was more than a simple, immature crush.
memories of kissing him on the balcony last night tainted her morning thoughts.
kai sat up straight, stretching his arms behind him.
"he's never like this around anyone."
the way kai exaggerated the word made her happy, that warm, fuzzy feeling flooding to fill her chest.
she didn't respond. just laughed nervously, under her breath.
roma recalled the unsure look that baekhyun's features had worn as he'd left to go and have a shower. eyeing kai's bare torso with apprehension, as if, something were to happen. rushing sound of water coming from the bathroom was muffled but resounded towards where her and kai were seated, the comfort of knowing baekhyun was near reassuring her.
"like, he's nice. when you're around," kai continued.
"nice?" she laughed, hand still clutching kai's notebooks. "what do you mean?"
it also relaxed her that she felt comfortable enough to converse with kai easily; casually, like friends. perhaps.
"dunno. he's a dick, usually."
roma didn't mean to let out a small laugh, and she almost didn't believe kai. of course he would say that, though. they were best friends. kai grinned, too. he was joking, she thought.
"he's not, come on. don't say that."
she was still attempting to suppress her quiet laughter.
"well, he can be. around girls."
roma blushed.
"but, i don't know, i guess there's something about you. you're different." kai paused. "most of them don't last more than one night so you must be special." he added the last part with a slight quirk to his mouth, a glint in his eye as he observed her.
although kai intended that as a compliment, perhaps, roma couldn't help but dislike the image that he was painting of baekhyun. someone who slept around, didn't give a shit, wasn't one to commit to anything. as roma thought about it, though, she realised that she didn't really know baekhyun that well. not well enough to make a judgement like that.
she also couldn't help but think that that was all she was. something to pass the summer with. waste away time.
"we're just friends," she muttered, more in attempt to convince herself than to shy away from kai's comment.
"yeah, yeah."
roma's cheeks reddened as kai raised an eyebrow suggestively at her.
it was as if the sun appeared to suddenly become brighter; beams of light seeping in, seeming to override the curtains and the shutters. blinding sunshine.
baekhyun re-entered the room.
wet hair dripping across his forehead. water droplets still visible on his clear skin. shirt askew, his left shoulder and collar bone in view. fresh scent of clean clothes and balmy shower gel emanated from his seemingly glowing presence.
"everything alright, love?"
she realised she was staring.
"y-yeah."
he walked forward and wrapped his arms around her seated body, kissing the top of her head lovingly.
roma smiled, and couldn't help but notice the shake of kai's head, an evident grin forming on his lips.
//
16:46.
"baekhyun, it's my job. i haven't really got a choice."
"roma, after what he did--"
"i can't just not go. i just won't go near him, or talk to him."
roma knew perfectly well what baekhyun was alluding to. jack. she wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to face him after what happened as much as baekhyun didn't want her to. but she had to go to work.
she hesitantly gulped down the rising lump in her throat.
he looked furious, an aggravated and worried expression etching into the growing creases of his forehead.
"anyway, i don't even think he's working today."
lie.
she looked down, not wanting to meet baekhyun's intense stare. somehow, she didn't think she was going to win this argument.
"roma, you can't go. what if he hurts you again?"
"he can't, it's a restaurant. he's not going to try anything."
it felt foreign, unreal, to have someone so worried about her whereabouts. provoked the cause of her racing pulse. roma partly mentioned the last statement, if anything, only to convince herself.
"baekhyun, w-why does it matter? we're not--"
"i care about you, okay?"
roma stopped speaking, his confession resounding throughout her. he was breathing heavily, up and down, dark eyes piercing her vision.
"okay," was all she said. stupid girl.
it was nearing the evening, the day having passed in a slow motion of dazzling, mellow sunshine and endless glasses of red wine. light conversation had passed, kai had seated himself on the window ledge again, writing away in the corner. sehun had come and gone, politely waving a hi to roma. she'd called mia--she hadn't spoken to her in days--to see how she was. typically, she'd found a new boy to pass the time with. roma had shrugged off the matter.
the whole day was perfect, in a way. she had this warm feeling inside of her that made her think she could get used to this. sunshine and no worries. her and baekhyun had spent the day in casual exchanges and small kisses, actions that still caused her to blush, particularly when he showed affection for her in front of sehun and kai.
his arms were around her waist, bringing her closer to him. bringing her back to the reality of the situation.
"just be careful," he whispered into her hair.
she hugged him back, breathing him in, glad that someone cared. even though it was sort of unnecessary. that's what she thought, anyway.
"i will."
"promise?"
"promise."
a flood of relief washed over her as baekhyun relaxed; lips formed a gentle smile of assurance. her skin burned at his touch. lights from the city began to ignite, dotting the horizon.
"when do you have to go?"
she checked the time.
"an hour or so."
"i'll drop you off," he stated.
she didn't argue, simply nodded in response.
he kissed her.
she smiled against his lips.
//