radiance | baekhyun

70

14:17.

"yeah, it's all good. he's still here, yeah," roma was saying on the phone to mia, the sound of the shower running in a dull pattern in the background. 

splinters of sun-lit shadows cast themselves in spiral and dotted patterns across the floor. 

"did you both manage to have a proper talk about it, then?" mia asked over the receiver, somewhat tentative, being careful around the subject. roma could tell. the way it was. 

"um, yeah...we did. it's all good now, i think. i hope," roma added the last part carefully, trying to hide the saddening tone in her voice. hard to pretend. 

not sad, actually. but just completely unsure; instability. 

ever since things had got back to normal, her mind had continued to wander. reality in motion. it was all happening all at once. despite baekhyun being here, at her actual home, things weren't going to stay in this state; tranquil, reposed, and untouched by the present matter at hand. neither of them had fully registered the obstacles of duration and distance. at least, she hadn't. 

grip on the phone tightened. 

"kai is leaving tomorrow."

roma's attention was diverted.

"really? how come?" she enquired, her tone more pinched, focused in. "leaving where?"

"he's going back to lyon. they still have their place, of course, for a little while longer. he told me he's going to find a place in london, though," she explained. her own voice wasn't shaky; in fact, it was very pleasant and reposed. blissfully unaware, almost.

"oh, really," was all roma could manage. 

supposedly that meant baekhyun would be going back to lyon, too, she thought to herself. processing that information was complicated; didn't make any sense in her brain. but it did.

"yeah, so, i'll be seeing him, i guess," mia continued, pausing in between words. 

roma could tell she was on her break at work, interrupting the sentence due to the drawn-out motion of a cigarette. stress of big-city life. the usual. 

she gulped. 

"yeah, um...i actually don't really know what baekhyun's plans are. we haven't really spoken about it," roma mumbled. "and, anyway, i'm leaving for university in less than a couple of weeks now, so..." she trailed off. 

"true," mia agreed, coughing lightly. "guess it's hard to bring the subject up."

roma wanted to agree.

sound of soft footsteps.

just then, baekhyun's slim but muscular figure appeared in the doorway. towel wrapped loosely around his defined waist, hair dripping wet, down his bronzed skin, a darker and more beautiful colour in contrast to the white and bluish air that her bedroom held, a reflection of the milky complexion of the wavering sky outside. 

an image burned into her ceaseless memory and imagination.

a small smile stretched across his lips; reassuring and sweet, eyes blinking back the moisture interfering with his vision, shaking his hair slightly. roma was wholly distracted. feet padded softly across the floor, towards the window. roma's eyes followed, smiling as best as she could and biting her lip a little. cast an almost insignificant shadow across the coloured floorboards.

"roma?"

mia's voice pierced through her ear.

"hmm? yes, sorry, what?" she muttered quickly, sitting up from her reclined and more vulnerable position. listening completely.