radiance | baekhyun

53

Lyon. 20:20.

the house in monaco was left behind, along with the ominous nature of jongdae's stares and the broken remnants of past memories left scattered across the floor. the lighters and the earth. roma had tried her hardest to calm her manic heart in the car, as soon as she'd yanked open the door and fumbled with her seatbelt, focusing on the road ahead, as she always tried to.

times like these where there was little else to do, to control her frantic breaths, heart and thoughts.

as they sped away--once baekhyun had scoured the house and grabbed any of his loose belongings that he saw, while roma idly watched, unable to move--and as the late, summer evening approached, the sky seemed to grow darker than it should have, transforming from a pretty, aqua haze to a dark topaz, a contrast of navy-blue streaked with hues of a golden-brown, traces of the sun.

remnants. always, like they lay, empty and broken, in the house. the same way that they were represented in the vast expanse of what could be the ocean. the sky.

it was gone now.

only eight in the evening, so it shouldn't have been so dark. but it was. almost like a winter night-time.

roma heard baekhyun's phone vibrate, and saw him side-glance at the lit-up screen, reading it out of his periphery. she couldn't stand the tight feeling that was stretched across her chest. he stared at the message until it disappeared, and then he focused again on driving. she hadn't managed to see who it was from herself.

could only assume. and it was better to assume the worst, to avoid disappointment.

signs along the motorway indicated that they were not very far from the city centre, where her apartment was. she felt a slight calm sensation taking over her, as she thought of being somewhere familiar, somewhere where all of her things and possessions were. a reassuring form of stability. her room, with the plants, and pictures and posters, and pads of paper.

the familiar buildings and monuments flashed before her eyes, as the car wound through the cobbled streets, headlights on. summer partying; people milling around in the centre, bare skin and big smiles, music thumping, sparks of colour dotting the skyline and the alleyways. she thought about how different her life had been when it was just her and mia, running through the night, drinking and dancing.

not long before baekhyun managed to find a place to park the car, right outside the accustomed location. roma realised she'd been holding in a heavy breath.

the car stopped. engine ceased. roma breathed out.

baekhyun was eerily silent. as he undid his belt, he reached for his phone, the illuminated screen shining into the creases of his perplexed and weary features, highlighting the heavy bags and the purple lines and indigo etches that ghosted across his seemingly perfect complexion.

"everything okay?" she managed to speak, only just. the words stuck to the roof of her mouth, her hands struggling to unclasp the belt herself.

baekhyun casually reached over and did it for her.

a second of silence. ignoring.

then he looked up.

"yeah. yeah, of course, everything is cool," he said, calmly and good-naturedly, but roma could sense the strain in the force it took him to enunciate the words.

he punched the music off.

"you, uh...you go ahead, though. i'll be up in a minute, if that's okay. just got to call someone," he said.

smiled. in the darkness of the front seats of the car. his phone was glowing.

roma decided to submerge her feelings of doubt and worry and anxiety for a moment. other matters were more pressing, right now. they shared a fleeting glance, a look that was filled with an odd power and a familiar sense of trust.