extraordinary disaster || baek kyung

26. paper lanterns

(A/N: I did write these chapters very quickly and late so if there's typos or incorrectness feel free to comment x)

It had been a long and depressing day in which dropping off an inconsolable Eun Dan Oh had been particularly difficult.

"She said she wants to be alone." Baek Kyung squeezes Lila's shoulder as they watch the short extra plod to her house. "You've done everything you can, Li."

Lila sighs. "I'm just scared that she'll fall apart. Haru is practically her everything."

"She'll be okay. The story's almost finished so we'll be joining him soon." Kyung bitterly reminds himself.

"Maybe." Lila murmurs, a little preoccupied. "He's technically not dead but she might never see him again."

I might never see you again.

Kyung pulls her into a hug, exhaling heavily. He presses a kiss to the top of her head, savouring her warmth and scent. How it feels to be this close to her.

"You okay?" Lila's voice is muffled by his chest.

"I just like hugging you." Kyung grins, leaning back to cup her face. He pecks her lips twice. "I love you, Lila."

I wish I had more time to love you.

Lila can see the conflict swimming in his eyes. She already knows what's plaguing him, because it's been troubling her too.

Precious, dwindling time and their lack of it.

"We're way too cool to be boxed into this silly, little comic book." She grins, though the amusement doesn't reach her eyes. "We deserve a book series, don't you think?"

"We do." Kyung almost smiles. "Then a movie adaptation."

Lila's face scrunches. "Romance movies are overdone."

"Why? Starred in too many?"

She blinks vacantly. Then realises that he's referring to Superstar.

"You really want to know?" Lila teases.

The vague question hangs in the air for a moment. Kyung's hand enveloped hers, halting her in her tracks.

Kyung's solemn expression chips at her airy resolve. "I want to know everything."

"You already know everything." Lila brushes off his sombreness. "I'm a superstar, going around and doing superstar things."

"That's not all of it. Is it?"

Lila clicks her tongue, eyes not quite meeting his. "It's most of it."

"Funny you say that," Kyung tries not to sound terse, "I heard that the Manhwa starts with you waking up from a year-and-a-half coma with no memories."

Lila curses Jinmichae in her head. "I do. But that's not very relevant to the plot."

"Having no recollection of the past twenty years is obviously significant." Kyung counters.

"Look, we were like four chapters into Superstar or something before I got launched here through one of those weird wormhole, portal things. The waking up from the coma thing was just the first Stage then we flash forward and suddenly I'm twenty-one and doing all sorts of Hollywood stuff." Lila attempts to assuage the growing seriousness of the conversation. "I'm sure it's just a shocking premise to hook the readers in."

"I think you might be lying to me." Kyung gives her a flat look.

"Lies aren't always bad." Lila is half-serious.