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"if we could live again."
Thursday mornings were strictly reserved for cleaning the house.
What Kim Taeyeon did not expect was her sitting by the couch, legs propped against her chest as she made herself comfortable with a grey knitted cardigan draped across her form. Something nudged at her elbow and she looked down to find ginger pawing at the loose strands of her cardigan. The moment Taeyeon raised a hand to stroke at the poodle's head, a soft groan sounded from the couch.
Taeyeon looked on as Byun Baekhyun shifted to his side, now facing her, eyes still tightly shut and lips parted to let out uncomfortable whimpers every now and then. She reached out to grab hold of the damp cloth that was slipping off his forehead. It still felt extremely warm to the touch, causing Taeyeon to frown. She had spent the entire night by his side, replacing the cloth every few hours, and his fever hadn't gone down.
Behind them, the curtains were drawn to the sides barely an hour ago, and the signs of dawn were already starting to slip in. Baekhyun's face was still covered in shadows, but the rest of his body that was still clad in a plain navy sweatshirt and black shorts was now visible in the morning rays.
Taeyeon let her gaze drift and land on Baekhyun's fingers that were slightly curled, his hands forming loose fists. This close, she could catch a whiff of the shampoo he used, of the sweatshirt that smelled strangely familiar (she later realised it's the laundry detergent that she had used for years - including those times he had stayed over and they washed their clothes together), and she remembered those hands that once held her fingers so tightly.
And she wondered just what went wrong, for her to feel that painful absence in her gut whenever she looked into his eyes now. She wondered if he ever felt the same way when they passed by each other in the company's corridors, she wondered if things would have been different now if they could live again.
Over the past two years, with the passing of time, Taeyeon knew she was no longer in love with him.
And vice versa, if she dared to add.
So why did he knock on her door at 1 in the morning, hair unruly and eyes haunted as he mumbled something about the company dinner (that she could not make it for) before promptly passing out in front of her? Taeyeon had gasped at the heat emanating from his body, covered him in layers after layers of blankets as she wrung cloths in the middle of the night. They had done this, even when they were supposed to be strangers now with no strings attached.
The fingers in her peripheral vision twitched and Taeyeon looked up to the owner.
Baekhyun was staring at her with half-lidded eyes, his gaze impassive. It was almost lulling with how his chest rose periodically. Taeyeon had to press her fingernails into her palms to stop thinking about the times he had playfully tackled her against his warm chest.
