EVERLAST [EXO Baekhyun]

CHAPTER 9 - LOVELY

When Baekhyun came back, she wasn't expecting him to have tears streaming down his face. Right away she ran to him, stopping only a few feet away. Then the aroma hit her nostrils, and she understood what happened long before she saw the corpses he was carrying.

"Oh, Baekhyun," she said in a mutter, rushing up to hug him.

He hugged back with one arm, his other carrying the animals. She felt him bury his head against her shoulder, him sniffling and threatening to cry. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I hesitated and lost a bunch of them, I only got 2."

"Hey, shh shh, all that matters is that you're alive and we have food. You did so good Baekhyun, we're going to eat well." She pulled back and placed her hands on his face without her brain telling her to do so. It was an instinct. "I'm so sorry you had to do that. Necessary or not, I can't imagine how that felt. Thank you for doing that for me."

He slowly grinned, tears still trickling down his face. "You're welcome."

She kept wiping his tears away, making sure not one hit the ground. He was sniffling and trying not to cry harder, but he couldn't stop himself, and she couldn't blame him. Her heart called to hug him, to cradle him like a baby and tell him everything would be okay. It would be a lie, but a pleasant one. Like she was singing him into a sleep that would last forever. It may be peaceful, but he'd never wake up. That was what this felt like.

"Come on, let's sit down, okay?"

He followed her words, plopping on the ground with the meat in his hands. She eyed the corpses, her nostrils grimacing from the scent that whacked her face. "I'm sorry I took so long. There's a river over there, fresh water, too. Our water problem is solved."

"We should explore more then, try and find what else is here. Maybe there's other survivors from the crash that made it out and we didn't see. Maybe they're living near that river since it's freshwater," she said, Baekhyun nodding in agreement, but she could tell he was still distant. Distant enough that her heart begged to make it right. So that was exactly what she did.

Rona got closer to him, him peeping up at her when she stopped mere inches away from him. She placed a hand on his cheek, ignoring his curious eyes burning through her skin. The proximity had her blushing. Literally blushing. Kim Rona . Blushing. Turning red. How? That wasn't something that ever happened. She couldn't remember the last time she fully blushed, especially because of a man. The last time was probably in a business meeting, one of her first. She used to have minor stage fright, often turning red because of presentations. Since then she overcame that, becoming a feared businesswoman in an industry that needed more like her. Ruthless but sensible. That was why she was good: she had a reason behind everything she did, a valid reason.

So why did she not have a reason to be close to Baekhyun?

Baekhyun kept his eyes trailed on her, his hands on her hips and swaying them gently. She placed a hand on his cheek, their eyes locking. "I need to know you'll be okay," she said in a hush, rubbing her thumb across him. He leaned into it, letting out a soft breath. What surprised her most was when he rested his hand over hers, kissing the back of hers as softly as possible. Another blush. What the hell was wrong with her?

"I don't know if I will," he replied, the sincerity dripping into his tone making her shiver. "But I'll try to be."

She gave him a firm nod, about to pull away when he kept her there. The two went back to staring at each other, admiration flying into her eyes. "Have you ever heard of personal space, Mr. Byun?" she asked, him breaking out into a smile and chuckling.

"Have you?"

Rona rolled her eyes, him laughing at the sight. "That's not a yes. I'm starting to think you don't know personal boundaries, Miss Kim."