Those Precious Lips // Baekchen

Those Precious Lips

Byun Baekhyun stepped out the bathtub feeling refreshed. The room was warm and misty, an indication that Mr. Byun enjoyed boiling himself for half an hour every evening before going to bed. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he wiped the mirror with a cloth before reaching for his toothbrush. While uncapping the toothpaste, he heard a door shut. Baekhyun was startled; his apartment only had two doors — the front door and the bathroom.

He nervously licked his lips, cracking the bathroom door open to see a scrawny, hairy man staring right back at him. He shouted in surprise, ready to slam the door shut when the man used his foot as a door stopper. "Who are you?!" Baekhyun shouted. "Get out of my apartment!"

"Sir, please!" the stranger begged. "I need to use the toilet, it's an emergency! I promise I'll leave right after!"

After assessing that the man seemed pretty much harmless, Baekhyun allowed the man to lock himself in the bathroom. Standing outside in the hallway, Baekhyun nervously wet his lips again. "How did you get in here?" he asked.

"The door was unlocked. Can you give me some privacy please?" the stranger replied, wincing in pain. There was no way he could use the restroom knowing someone was standing outside the door.

"Ten minutes," Baekhyun announced before walking away to his living room, then realizing he was practically naked, he rushed into his closet and threw on a long-sleeved shirt and some sweats. He took his phone from the desk, about to dial the police when he hesitated. The stranger had just wanted to use the restroom, right?

The door opened before Baekhyun could make up his mind and he hurried to catch up with the stranger before he left. The man found Baekhyun and bowed deeply, "Thank you so much, sir. I won't be bothering you again."

Taking a good look at the man, Baekhyun realized he was one of the homeless that lived around the area. His clothes were dirty and there were holes that the smallest of breezes could enter, his hair was disheveled and clumped together in various parts, his facial hair looked like it would need a lawn mower to shave it all off. "Wait," Baekhyun said as the man began to leave, but the man ignored him and left. With a small sigh, Baekhyun whispered, "I just wanted to know your name at least."

—-

Four evenings later on a Friday, it was raining rocks. Mr. Byun was in the midst of the storm, one hand clutching a bag of groceries, the other holding a blue umbrella over his head. "Ah, it's really cold," he muttered to himself as he stopped at an intersection. From his peripheral vision, he spotted a person hugging himself inside a cardboard box near the dumpsters. He cursed to himself; he'd have to pass by the poor man to get to his apartment. But as he neared the homeless man, he realized it was the same one who had broken into his place to use the restroom a few nights ago. With a mental shrug, Baekhyun decided to approach him. It wouldn't hurt anybody to be nice, right?

The homeless man trembled violently from the cold. All he had to keep warm was a small blanket that had belonged to a child and it was drenched from the rain. The cold bounced off his small box that was his home and penetrated his skin to his bones. He figured he was going to catch some sort of illness and die soon. Die without anyone knowing his name, knowing who he was. As he was busy thinking those negative thoughts, someone approached him in a blue trench coat. Probably to take out their trash.

"Hello," Baekhyun glanced down at the man. "I'm uh... Byun Baekhyun. You came into my apartment a few nights ago?" The man glanced up when he realized the stranger was addressing him. One look at the man's face, his lips, and the homeless man recognized him. At his nod, Baekhyun continued, "Would you like to stay with me? We're about to head into the worst of the winter."