Summery: Exo has scattered. Now in hiding after the Red Force closed in on them and Luhan went missing. Baekhyun finds himself in a small town while he waits until they can reunite again. Guarded after everything that has taken place, he’s not looking for friendship, or anything else, until a light shines through, even as the darkness closes around them.
Next, AO3
Chapter 1: Depth of Field
The sun warmed Baekhyun’s skin against the cold breeze that weaved through the tall grass. It was turning golden, creating the perfect lighting for him to catch through his lens. The puttering of an old truck broke the stillness as it made its way on the road behind him, but he kept his focus on the camera. He was so focused that he didn’t notice the puttering had stopped.
“You okay?”
He jumped with a yelp at the sudden voice and spun around to find that the truck had come to a stop and its driver was addressing him. The light of the setting sun was blocking his view of the woman’s features, but he could tell she was young by her voice.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you need help?” she asked with a giggle that tinkled like soft bells.
“I’m okay,” he responded, the Russian still awkward in his mouth. “Just catching some photos before the sun goes down.”
“Would you like a ride back to town?” she asked. “It’s quite a walk.”
“I’m going to be taking photos for a while, but thank you,” Baekhyun said and started to turn back to the scene he was capturing.
“I don’t mind waiting,” the woman said. “I’d hate to leave someone alone on these roads after dark. They’re not the safest.”
“It could be a while,” he said, turning back to her again.
“My evening is free.”
“Well…” he thought for a second. Walking back in the dark was not the most ideal situation. “Okay,” he finally conceded. “I’ll buy you dinner as a thank you.”
“I’d never refuse a free meal,” she said with a chuckle.
He smiled at her honest response and then turned back to the scenery that was quickly changing with the sun’s descent. Faster than he anticipated, the sun was gone and he rushed to pack his gear in the lack of light, then made his way carefully through the tall grass to the road where the truck still waited.
The young woman was now hidden in the heavy shadows of twilight, but she noticed him coming before he had even left the brush.
“All done?” she asked, leaning across the truck to open his door from inside.
“Yep,” he responded as he finally made it to the asphalt. “Where can I put my gear?”
“There isn't much room in the cabin, unfortunately, but you can get in here what will fit and place the rest in the bed if you’re okay with that.”
“Better than lugging it back to town on foot,” he said. He placed his camera bag on the floor then took his tripod to the back and placed it in the truck bed as securely as possible. When he climbed into the front she started the vehicle and then held her hand out to him.
“My name’s Lara,” she said and he took her hand.
“Baekhyun,” he said after a second of hesitation.
“Korean?” she asked with surprise, her grip tightening as she pulled him closer.
He nodded, trying to pull back.
“Oh, sorry,” she said, letting go and switching to Korean. “I got excited. There aren’t really many Koreans in the surrounding towns.
The language change surprised him and he noted the lack of accent. “Are you Korean as well?”
“On my mom’s side,” she said, then put the truck in gear and started driving. “Spoke both Korean and Russian growing up, so I’m fluent in both. Your Russian is pretty good, but I can tell it’s not a natural language for you. How long have you lived here? Must be fairly new if I hadn’t heard about you yet. Word about newcomers travels pretty fast around here.”
“I haven’t been around long,” he said, adjusting in his seat as he tried to come up with answers. “I travel a lot and liked some of the scenery in the area so I thought I’d stick around for a bit.”
“Do you work for a magazine, or…?”
“Just freelance,” he responded when she trailed off. “I’ll send shots to magazine companies sometimes and find random requests online to fulfill. I’d like to set up a studio someday though if I can ever settle down.”
“Wanderlust?”
“Something like that. Nowhere really feels like home.” He shifted again and coughed. “What about you?”
“I can’t really seem to escape the small-town life,” she said with a shrug. “Moved away from home, but only made it a few towns over. I didn’t really have any grand plans, just wanted to see how I would do on my own.”
“Sounds grand to me,” Baekhyun said with a smile. “Where do you work?”
“The little bakery on the east end at the corner. I was just coming back from a delivery to the next town over.”
“I’ve been meaning to go in there. What do you recommend?”
“We’ve got some pretty good muffins,” she said. “But they’re my specialty so I might be biased.”
“I happen to really like muffins,” he said. “I’ll have to give them a try.”
They continued to chat casually as they bounced down the road. Stars became more and more visible as the light continued to fade in the horizon and the homesickness that Baekhyun had been struggling with lightened slightly at the familiar language and constant chatter.
