15:02.

two days passed: much the same as before.

simple exchanges and bright smiles and running through the streets and exploring. or revisiting; back to what baekhyun remembered and wanted to show her.

another night at another restaurant: baekhyun had reached forward across the table for her hand, eyes drawing hers in. told her a few more secrets and things, topics that widened her understanding and connected their fingers with an odd but soothing current of electricity.

remnants of his past. roma learnt that she actually knew very little about him. much less than she perceived. such an interesting and intelligent character.

baekhyun had been a big distraction. the morning after, roma had sat with her legs dangling off the counter, thinking about the original plans she'd had for this summer. working extra hours, to save up money for uni when she would return to england. making memories, as well, as mia had stated with that sparkling look in her eyes. knowing all too well.

at the moment she'd been dwelling on those thoughts, baekhyun had wandered past her, dropping his empty glass into the sink. shirtless. hair tousled. he'd taken one look at the light switch. it had switched off; dark vision lingered on it a while.

roma had smiled down at herself.

what a big yet wonderful distraction.

and when he'd then come to rest in between each of her thighs, still on the counter, any regrets she'd had vanished from her plagued mind. arms around his neck, his warm hands resting on her legs. noses rubbing against one another.

same as always. perhaps, a few weeks back, she would've thought what a waste of time having a boyfriend was. boyfriend. or just having someone else in your life, who took up your entire thoughts and your entire days.

now, though. it was worth it.

so many things she'd done and places she'd visited that would never have been possible without him.

love couldn't even describe.

roma thought back to the words she'd uttered, accidentally and unintentionally. because, she'd never spoken those three words with more depth to anyone ever. cringed slightly at the memory of baekhyun's silence and stiff form.

it had been on her mind. maybe his feelings for her weren't as strong. roma loved baekhyun with every fibre of her being. she couldn't bring herself to formulate a sentence that could deduce whether he felt the same way about her.

so caught up and focused was she in her own thoughts and feelings and mind that when the front door burst open quite suddenly, it scared the absolute shit out of her.

she almost knocked her mug of coffee over from her crossed legs, her posture sitting up immediately from where she'd been reclined on the sofa.

it was minseok. hair fallen across his forehead, his backpack slung over one shoulder, headphones in his ears. he looked at her intently for a minute, then nodded politely.

"hey, what's up?" he said to her, flicking his hair in her direction.

"oh, hey, minseok. yeah, good, thank you," she replied hurriedly; moved her books and her coffee, standing up awkwardly to greet him.

she'd almost forgotten that he lived here. hadn't seen him for what felt like so long. baekhyun and her had practically completely occupied the flat; things spread across the sofa and kitchen, sleeping in minseok's bed. roma felt momentarily embarrassed.

minseok nodded as if in agreement and began to take his hoodie and shoes off.

baekhyun came through the door, having heard minseok entering. plain t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"hey, man," baekhyun said, "you're back! you alright?"

typical boy interaction.

"yeah, good," minseok responded, letting out a deep breath.

minseok walked forward, and they both gave each other a quick hug, accompanied by a manly pat on the back.

"where have you been?" baekhyun asked, stepping to the side and making his way over to where roma was now seated again.

although roma had a feeling--knew very well--that, actually, baekhyun knew exactly where minseok had been these past few days. maybe it had almost been a week. despite him having opened up to her, there was still an air of secrecy. something that was hidden in between flickering eyelashes and side glances.

he came over to her, slinging his arm around her back, across the sofa, warming her heart. she snuggled into his arm; his shirt smelt really nice. of warmth and of him.

"just visiting some friends," minseok said. roma knew enough about baekhyun to tell that some sort of cryptic message was hidden in that simple and casual statement.

friends.

their past.

baekhyun's body was somewhat on edge.

the afternoon sun slanted in through the blinds. golden rays and yellow, deep shadows.

"cool, man," baekhyun replied.

scratched the back of his neck, extending his arm further around roma. breathed him in.

"you missed a few nice days here. it's been good weather."

baekhyun made conversation.

roma seemed to develop this weird feeling; like her presence created an awkward, unnatural tension between the two men. baekhyun's hold on her, fingers digging into her shoulders, symbolised something else. something that made minseok's eyes linger a little bit longer on the pair's interactions.

made roma feel uncomfortable. unwanted. couldn't quite put her finger on it.

as if to reassure her, baekhyun's hand rubbed up and down her arm soothingly.

"yeah, i heard," minseok smiled, heading for the kitchen counter, dropping his big, heavy bag in the middle of the living space. "was pretty nice where i was, too, though."

he began to sort through the fairly tidy kitchen, sifting through the cupboard, searching for a mug. roma felt perhaps she should have offered to make coffee or tea for him. had he had a long journey?

minseok looked somewhat refreshed. no bags under his eyes, skin radiant, vision alert and actions working at a normal pace.

"hey, man, thanks so much for letting me and roma stay. means a lot," baekhyun spoke, glancing sideways at her.

minseok looked up from where he was rinsing the mug in the sink. looked in between them; their touching shoulders and bodies.

"honestly, no worries. it's the least i could do," he smiled pleasantly, beginning to fill the coffee pot. "i'm surprised it's not such a massive dump," he added, lips turning up at the corners as he focused in on baekhyun.

baekhyun looked jokingly defensive.

"hey, i'm not even that bad. it's kai and sehun who make all the mess," baekhyun grinned. minseok scoffed at him, a wider expression of teasing forming on his pink lips. "anyway, you've got roma to thank for the tidying."

another side glance thrown her way.

"i thought as much," minseok responded. left the kitchen alone and came and chucked himself down on the floor. "cheers, roma."

roma attempted to get up, to allow minseok somewhere to sit, but baekhyun put slight pressure on her shoulders, as if to say not to worry. minseok was rubbing his eyes.

"it's no problem at all. really, nothing. thanks so much for letting us--i mean, yeah, for letting me stay."

baekhyun sighed.

"no worries. honest," minseok said.

it was afternoon, which meant the sun was perfectly filtering its way through the large window. when minseok looked up, half of his face was illuminated with a bright light, reflecting off of his deep, coloured orbs, his skin appearing to glow unnaturally. the other side of his face was covered in the shadow that the sofa and objects in the small room provided, giving him an odd yet beautiful appearance.

silence, for only a moment. pleasant.

roma looked intently at baekhyun's side profile to her left; strong jawline and long eyelashes. the sun's light bounced over his body, his form curving the rays, giving the illusion that his hair was much darker than it was, skin dimmer and less blinding.

he turned, once he noticed her staring, lips forming a pretty smile. insignificant--maybe, to him--but, oh, god...she loved him so much. couldn't deal with how overcome with emotion these small gestures would make her.

and then he leant in slightly, and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth.

and roma smiled back.

forgot everything for a minute.

the sun altered position in the sky. a cloud, or something. silver lining. or, gold.

then, minseok's face was completely bright now, eyes squinting slightly. the spot in front of him was very dark. baekhyun's eyes were dancing with an auburn, unknown light.

coffee; strong and reminding her of memories. minseok got up, pushing himself up from the beige, scratchy carpet, heading to the kitchen. could still see him.

"you're both welcome to stay as long as you want," minseok stated casually, pouring the coffee pot. "it's nice to have a change. gets pretty quiet at home sometimes."

baekhyun smiled at roma. she couldn't explain how much she appreciated statements like that, or brief, fleeting beams, and people caring.

"thank you, minseok," she uttered politely.

"thanks, man. i was thinking of heading off soon, though. go and visit some other places."

roma turned sharply to see baekhyun's expression. barely even looked at her. making decisions like that, without informing her.

"oh, really," minseok said, without emotion. "you know, roma?" he lifted his chin up, looking straight at her, spoon stirring his coffee while he focused on her.

"yeah?"

"you might want to call your friend."

roma froze. limbs stuck and heart picking up its pace.

"um...are you talking about mia?" she asked, lips finding it difficult to form the correct, comprehensive words.

"yeah, her. i was speaking to jongdae on the phone and he said she'd gone back home, but they weren't sure."

"what do you mean they weren't sure?"

she was trying not to sound too panicked. baekhyun was watching her intently, obviously unaware of her previous phone call with her.

minseok shrugged, which slightly irritated her.

"i don't know myself, they just told me she went home but they wanted to check she was okay. so, maybe you should phone her?"

roma began to wonder. mia hadn't sounded herself. hadn't sounded okay on their call. perhaps kai, or one of them, or someone, had done or said something for her. it continued to seem stranger and stranger to roma, as to why mia would even have stayed there in the first place.

should have gone home first. roma felt that familiar lump rise up in her throat. looked at baekhyun. she should have maybe stuck with mia.

"yeah. yeah, of course i will," roma replied, shaking her head of any confusing thoughts.

pushed herself up from where she was sat on the sofa.

baekhyun grabbed hold of her arm. she turned around. was met with his widened, quizzical stare, lips forming an unsure curve.

"what's happened, roma?"

"i don't know," she said hurriedly.

as roma got up and began to make her way into the bedroom where her phone was charging, she noticed baekhyun and minseok exchange an odd glance. reading each other's minds. that's what it seemed like.

her phone felt distant in her grip, as did mia. she bit her nails anxiously, the sound of the ringtone filling the room.

that was all she could hear, as well as the sound of baekhyun and minseok's voices rising in volume.

arguing.

//

so incredibly sorry for the long wait. i recently started uni abroad and life has been c r a z y busy. hope you can forgive. if you still follow radiance, thank you so much! it means so much to me that you guys read my story (: if you have any questions or just wanna talk or whatevs, just message me!

((i also don't think i'm ever going to get over the bts comeback becaUSE TAEHYUNG LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD I CANT))

also the colours & the whole vid is just perf.

lots of love, em xo