Where Baekhyun tells the story of how he slowly began to lose himself, and Jongdae listens beside him, Baekhyun's hand always held tightly within his, and fingers intertwined.
[Be mindful of the trigger warnings.]
cover credits to @yihxing, with muc...
WARNING: Possibly disturbing elements, imagery. Maybe a little dramatic.
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THREE [PLEASE PRAY FOR SOME STRENGTH]
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Projects, assignments - all unfinished, passages incomplete, scattered all over the floors of Baekhyun's small bedroom under Jongdae's feet. Junmyeon watches him by the door as he sits on Baekhyun's bed, sheets messy and tangled - Baekhyun has never been the type to make his bed. It's been a while since he's entered Baekhyun's room, what's not with Baekhyun's door constantly kept locked and shut (and Jongdae who just decides to respect his privacy), and it's actually funny now that Jongdae observes the circumstances and thinks about it. Something about the mess and disorganization in Baekhyun's room stands out, and he can't quite exactly pinpoint why.
Junmyeon sighs, leans the side of his head against the doorframe with his hand wrapped around the doorknob. "Jongdae, I... have to go back to work. Sorry, I can't stay," he says.
Jongdae doesn't say anything, and Junmyeon decides to press on, "Will you be okay being alone for a bit? I'll come back later. In three hours or so."
"I'll be fine, hyung," Jongdae says, finally turning to Junmyeon. There's a small smile on his lips. "You don't have to worry about me. Just take your time. Thanks for driving me home."
It's turning dark outside, though neither Jongdae and Junmyeon really notice when Baekhyun's windows are covered over with thick, opaque curtains. Junmyeon is quiet as he nods, pulling the doorknob with him as he turns his back towards the younger to close the door behind him. Worried is an understatement. Jongdae's been relentlessly blaming himself for not having caught up with Baekhyun's symptoms earlier - sooner, it's all he'd been murmuring about on their way home from the hospital. The first few times; Junmyeon does try to tell him that it's not his fault, that they'd all taken too long to notice. But Jongdae remained nothing but insistent, and Junmyeon hadn't been sure on what else he could do besides pretending as if he didn't hear Jongdae's breathy mutters after.
Even as he steps out of the front door, he can't help himself from looking back, gaze on Baekhyun's door. Jongdae would be alright, wouldn't he?
He shoves his hands into his pocket, shakes off thoughts of any worst-case scenario possible. "He'll call me if he needs anything," he says to himself for reassurance.
You would, wouldn't you... Jongdae?
.
It's hard to say where Jongdae feels like he's standing as of this moment. There's bits and bits more of clarity in his head now compared to the hours prior, but he isn't even sure what he'd been thinking of when he led his own steps into Baekhyun's room - Baekhyun's disorganized mess of a room. Baekhyun never keeps files, being that one student who stashes every note and worksheet into disarrayed piles within a couple of folders that are overridden with doodles in permanent markers and sticky notes on top; so the sight of that one single clean folder placed by his laptop with its' surface still smooth and new comes as a bit of surprise to him.
