I met you when I was 18. ― EXO

Paris in the Rain

⎡ Byun Baekhyun ⎦

Baekhyun had always planned to bring her to Paris, the city where she dreamed of going her whole life. Sure, there would be a different side to a (said) perfect city but he didn't want to put those into context whenever she decided to talk about the city of her dreams. He loved to listen to her plans if she got the chance to come to Paris. Just listening to how she talks about the famous, must visit spots, the architecture, the vibe of the city, and how she would imagine having coffee at a different shop each morning. "Oh, you're also next to me enjoying your warm tea," was what she would always say in the end, making him laugh at her teasing statement.

After months of planning, he dropped the surprise on her a few weeks before her birthday, stating that they would be spending a week together in Paris. With the most important detail—her birthday falling on their last day there.

Time passed and soon enough they were already in Paris and taking in everything. From filling their sights with the buildings they had only seen in pictures to stuffing their noses with the smell of freshly baked pastries as they walked into cafes. Also to indulge their tastebuds of those pastries they had smelled aside from letting their ears welcome the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the city. Only realizing it wasn't a dream as their fingertips brushed against the exterior of the city's buildings and feeling the slight breeze from their motorcycle rides against their skin.

Travelling from one must visit tourist spot to a random petite coffee shop sandwiched between a backpackers motel and what seems to be an haute couture store, Baekhyun found himself drawn more to the smile she was wearing instead of the sights Paris was offering him. The gleam in her eyes had him smiling seeing how content she was with her lifelong dream coming true.

Days filled with sightseeing, they took so many pictures and videos, which began taking over their storage forcing them to buy a new set of memory cards, but she didn't mind spending some extra money to capture their memories as they are. "The brain is great with processing and storing memory but sometimes it becomes fickle and the memories mix along with our imagination, so then it becomes hard to decide if it's reality or a dream," she said to him as he stared at her being so intent on changing the memory cards as they settled with light dinner.

The days flew by quickly and their last day approaches them. Considering the fact that they'll have 11 hours above the clouds to sleep off their tiredness, they decided to stay up on the last night and enjoy the gleaming, starry nightlife of Paris.

"It's interesting how the same place could ooze out different vibes which are equally attractive," she spoke as she began taking close-up shots of Baekhyun with the Louvre as the background. "Look, the mood of this picture is all different!" she exclaimed and Baekhyun leaned his head against hers to look at the said picture. "Oh, it's just you being in the picture that's making it all different..." she teases him, resulting in him gently pinching her cheek.

"You've become too hyper since the second we set foot here," Baekhyun sent a comeback as he slowly backed away from her and took the camera in hand to his face. It didn't take him long to find the right angle and took several pictures of her as she stared at the night view with amazement sparkling from her eyes.

"I saw that it might rain tonight," Baekhyun spoke as he returned back next to her causing her to let a sigh. "Think on the positive side, you get to experience all Paris has to offer, including walking about the streets in the rain," he continued as she only eyed him with no sight of being amused.

As soon as he said so, their skin was greeted with raindrops. Quickly placing away their phones and camera, they ran quickly to find shelter. The two huddled together as they took cover in one of the cafes along with a lot of others who thought of the same thing. With Baekhyun's arm side-hugging her and her hands clasped together, they looked out. The music of rain singing their mellow tune as they dropped on the land of Paris filled the pair's ears despite the chatter of people in the cafe—probably complaining about the rain.

The sight of falling rain lasted only for a while as about fifteen minutes later, winds started to carry away the clouds and only light showers were covering the arrondissement they were in. Baekhyun's gaze stayed as he watched her. The gentleness in her gaze radiated the warmth she was feeling. The warm he meant being her heart enjoying all that Paris was offering to her senses. The jovial smile that grows on her lips draws him in and once again, in a random cafe in Paris, Baekhyun found himself falling in love.

Her focus on the view on the other sight of the glass made managed to lock her in her position and it only broke once she felt a warm hand in hers and it pulling her to walk in the rain. "Baekhyun..." her tone so soft it made Baekhyun's heart do leaps and as his heart started to pound hard in his chest, he stopped in the middle of a puddle. Staining his shoes along with hers.

"You look pretty as the moonlight starts to show up," he spoke as he turned to face her, his hand letting go of hers and using it to fix her bangs.

"Being here made me realize. I love to see your smile. I love to see that twinkle in your eyes. I love to listen to your excited squeals. I love it whenever I fall in love with you all over again," Baekhyun stared into her eyes, making her smile grow bigger and bigger the more he confesses.

"Wherever it might be, whenever it is, in whatever circumstances, as long as I'm with you, I'll always remember how I fall in love with you and how much I love that I'm in love with you," she giggles at the amount of the word 'love' she was hearing.

"I can never explain how the world feels as if it stopped whenever you look at me like that," Baekhyun continued as he smiled as she looked at him with the same gleam she had while looking at the sight of rain. Taking his hands to her head, he planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a hug.

"Happy birthday, my love."

She could feel his heartbeat and he could feel her warm breaths. The fuzzy warmness that spreads in every direction it could in his heart as they stood still in each other's embrace as it rains in the streets of Paris felt so familiar. It was what he felt whenever he was with her. Baekhyun's heart was close to jumping out of his chest and the rush of feelings that comes never goes away in all the times he spent with her. He loved how this is and with the trip, he's happy he could have a phrase to express how he feels. 

❝Anywhere with you feels like Paris in the rain.❞