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Once upon a time, there lived a girl who believed in unicorns and wonderlands. She'd scrunch her nose against freezing glass windows where droplets of water condensed, squeal when her parents told her that santa claus is real, jump in joy when a rainbow breaks out after a thunderstorm. Nothing much daunted her; she's Kim Taeyeon, the girl who'd smile through every hurdle.
Then came the criticism, the thoughtless hateful comments left by people who barely knew her. "An idol needs to learn to stomach these varying opinions from others" , "An artiste should be used to being criticized" , "Kim Taeyeon, you're the leader. Not trying to be harsh, but you really ought to suck it up and stay strong because that's the only thing you should care about right now."
And she had tried — so, so hard to reflect on her actions. She apologized, she placed others' wellbeing before hers (even more so than before) , she bottled up the negative feelings and locked them in a strongbox somewhere even she couldn't reach anymore.
Because the heart could only take so much.
— ❆ —
The quiet town, Soseol, wakes up to snow.
At 7 in the morning, the streets are already littered with sparse flutters of pristine white, the temperature dropping to a new low. Christmas decorations that hang along naked tree branches still manage to peek out from thin layers of snow, their beauty still veiled since it's early in the morning. The townspeople, being used to starting their day early, are already up and about, causing the small buzz in town.
Byun Baekhyun shrugs the heavy blanket off him as he stretches quietly, stifling a groan from where he's sitting. At the far end of the room, Taeyeon stays asleep, unaware of the white beauty outside. Her body is curled up in a fetal position and Baekhyun can't help but stare a moment longer at the soft black curls that have fallen slightly over her closed eyes. He feels a dull ache in his chest, aware of the short yet impenetrable distance between them.
The two of them haven't been conversing for days, and Baekhyun knows it's mainly his fault from the cooking class incident the other day. Still, he wants to be sure of everything before he takes a step further. It's not his intention for being cold to her (hell, he nearly reached for the knife when he saw Taeyeon conversing freely to that chef Kim Yeokannoying) but their relationship has become so brittle that he's afraid of worsening it.
More than anything, he wants her to tell the truth with all honesty she can muster. Baekhyun doesn't think he can deal with yet another heartbreak if she is to spit those damned words in his face again.
She needs time. So does he.
Baekhyun remains still as the petite figure before him squirms in her blanket, unconsciously wrapping it closer to her body due to the cold that has managed to seep in. As if aware of a heated stare at her, Taeyeon squints her eyes open at the culprit who shamelessly looks right into her eyes, causing a burning sensation in her ears. Baekhyun sits on his mattress, legs crossed and not breaking the eye contact.
