radiance | baekhyun

17

19:52.

it worried her, that he wasn't here.

jack hadn't turned up, even though she knew that it was his shift tonight, along with her and laura. the restaurant was bustling, busy with customers, the fleeting conversations were slightly higher in volume than most nights. heat of the lasting day stuck to her back, her white shirt and black skirt warm and damp from the high temperatures. her persistent worry and continuing anxious state only added to the perspiration gathering along the brim of her forehead.

roma had attempted to preoccupy her thoughts, but her strategy had proved unsuccessful, her mind consumed by questions concerning jack's whereabouts. and questions concerning whether baekhyun was okay.

she'd only just managed to convince him to let her work tonight. her stomach still did flips at the remembrance of his caring nature and somewhat over-protective words. baekhyun had stared at her with that captivating, penetrating stare, the one that made her feel as if she meant far more to him than she thought. couldn't be true.

"doesn't jack work tonight? where is he?" roma casually asked her colleague, laura, during a spare moment that the two girls shared behind the bar, away from the sweltering heat of the loud dining room.

"no idea. you're right, he normally does work, though," laura said, not bothered by her asking in the slightest. didn't think anything of it. "maybe he's ill or something."

laura took a large sip of the rather worryingly large glass of gin and tonic that she'd just poured for herself, not before offering a similar concoction to roma, to which she politely declined. you weren't supposed to drink on the job. roma wasn't one for reckless behaviour.

"i wouldn't worry about it, though," laura said, downing the drink in one shot. similarly, roma noted how laura's tight clothes also clung to her body. roma brought the back of her hand up to dab at her forehead. it was so hot.

"oh, no, i'm not," roma reassured. perhaps she had come across as anxious for him, wondering whether jack was fine. "just thought it was weird for him to miss his shift, is all."

that certainly wasn't the case. her heart thumped as the recalled his rough touch encompassing her small frame, violating, marking her with his alcoholic breath and drunken threats. perhaps roma was more shocked about the entire ordeal because she'd been naïve enough to think that her and jack were friends.

she cringed at the thought.

"ah, well," laura sighed.

the manager called upon them both, telling them to stop chatting. quickly, they turned their attentions back to waiting tables and serving drinks. laura wiped her mouth and tested her breath before the two of them had jumped up over the counter.

now that the bar was beginning to clear as the night slowly progressed, and the orange lamps were rid of their burning candles, roma began to collect her things, taking off her apron in the process, and saying goodbye to everyone. earlier, she'd insisted on walking home, informing baekhyun that she only lived a few streets away--even though he knew that. she'd see him tomorrow. as usual, he had reluctantly agreed.

as she stepped out of the doorway and realised she'd have to cut through the church square, her heart began to race and her legs began to shake. memories flooded back.

roma didn't normally mind walking home through the town; it wasn't too late, anyway, and it wasn't far. but tonight, there was something in the air, a thick, humid tension that mirrored her own distress at jack's absence. a heavy feeling rested in the pit of her stomach, weighed her down, as she tried not to think of what she assumed.