Could it be him?

Winter Bear

"I'll keep you safe" Baekhyun says, pulling me closer to his chest as my head lay on his shoulder. My eyes were stinging because of how much I cried the whole night. Nothing seemed real.

Feeling my cold feet, he puts his leg over my petite body to generate heat. "It's gonna be okay. Trust me. Try thinking about the stars. Sehun hyung is one of them now. A shiny star that no one can shatter. A star that no one can forget. Noona, when I lost my mother, my father said to me that as long as they stay in our hearts, no one can call them dead."

As my eyelids feel heavy, I feel Baekhyun lift my head and place it on a pillow. He tucks me in and leaves my room. Sehun will always remain in my heart...

"Leah, don't you dare skip this song!" Sehun says and pushes my hand away. Changing the gear, he starts singing 'Winter Bear' by V of BTS. I close my eyes and listen to his soothing voice that was accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain. "Leah look there!" he exclaims and opens the sunroof of the car.

I could see stars. Many stars. But surprisingly only one star shined brighter than the others. As I call his name to show the brightest star, I hear a loud honk and see the truck come hit us.

Gasping for air I open my eyes and see Baekhyun looking at me with his squinty eyes. "Shh, it was just a nightmare," Baekhyun says and strokes my hair. The both of us were sleeping together in my bed and he kept stroking my hair until the whole night.

I never knew I needed Baekhyun.

"Yah Baekhyun! That's my towel!" I shout, standing on the kitchen's countertop. I chase him in and out of his room. Hearing the doorbell ring I tell him to calm the freak down and snatch my towel from his hand. "... Suho... Yixing... what are you guys-"

"Welcome home noona's friends! My name is Baekhyun and if you're wondering why I'm here, long story short, oh wait Leah is shorter! Hahahaha ok, maybe you guys didn't find my joke amusing..."

Sitting next to Suho I look into his eyes which were searching for an answer. "Why didn't you come to work for so many months? I heard about Oh Sehun but... you could have at least picked up our calls. Lay and I were so worried!... also I noticed how skinny you've become, you look pale Leah..."

"Yeah, you should eat these. Baekhyun cut these apples for us please," Lay says.

-

"...and I spent those months with Baekhyun, helping him find a job and living off my savings... things were rough but having a company like Baekhyun helped me overcome everything..." I say and think about how we used to spend time together by playing board games like kids, cooking different dishes for him, fighting like babies, helping him practice for his auditions, feeding the stray cat, having pillow fights, watching horror movies "noona! why does that single-eyed ghost have to come so abruptly?" he would ask and burry his face behind my shoulder, "noona! this is the eleventh time you're sleeping on the couch and this is the eleventh time I'm carrying you to your room," he saw with a pout as I pretended to sleep, consoling each other, and even sleeping on each other's chest.

"Noona, stop daydreaming, and here you go eat this," he says shoving a slice of apple inside my mouth. What's wrong with him? He never forces me to eat.

"Lay, please, I don't want to eat tteokkbokki now. Please don't force me!"

-

Bidding them, I slam the door shut and go to my room. In a hurry, I open my washroom door and bend down. Sticking my index and middle finger in my mouth, I force myself to purge. Puking more than half of my food out, I cough as the physical lump in my throat compels me to barf further.

Suddenly, I feel a hand holding up my hair. Baekhyun collects all my hair and puts it behind my ear. Helping me stand up, he washes my face and opens a bottle of water, and helps me drink. Carrying me to my bed, he lays me and pulls the sheets over my body.

"T-Thank you, B-Baekhyun..."

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, information and resources are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com