☀️rooftop pt.2 ➣ bbh☀️
☀️Genre: Romance, angst, fluff, bakery & island! au
☀️Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader/ oc
☀️Previous - Next
☀️Updates every: Wednesday night🌙
In your eyes, just for a minute
In your passing touch, stay for a minute...
It was one of those really busy days in the bakery where the sun shone its brightest and people were in for a cool drink and pastries. For there was no better way to enjoy a snack in the midst of a summer day than by the beautiful landscape of the sea. The bakery gave a lovely and refreshing view to whoever visited. The girl had barely gotten used to the job after one week and a half of work. She hadn't completely woken up yet as she dragged her half limp body out of the bed, her muscles screaming and tightening in pain as she did so, eyelids hanging heavily over her eyes that begged for 3 more hours of sleep. It was past her alarm time and truly, she should have gotten up at least 20 minutes earlier but sleep had sounded way more delicious than breakfast. She settled with another long-sleeved shirt although the sun was hot enough to melt it, and a skirt that reached down to her knees. After brushing her teeth and making sure she looked presentable, she was already down the stairs, getting completely overwhelmed by the number of costumers flooding the place. Eyes wide and heart beating wildly, when she made her way towards the kitchen there were Mrs. and Mr. Byun yelling orders to the boys all over the place. She was halfway through with wearing her apron when Mrs. Byun was suddenly in front of her, pushing a miles-long list of products and ingredients into her right hand, and in the left one was a bunt of won bills.
"It's really urgent! Please go buy these groceries!" Before she could even gasp, Mrs.Byun was already gone in the kitchen again. Startled, she peeked into the busy place and caught sight of Junmyeon and Jongdae stressfully washing utensils while Baekhyun was kneading a massive dough. From where she was standing, she could see the glistening of the sweat on his forehead. The girl didn't realize how she was creepily staring at the boy from a distance until he suddenly met her gaze, making her heart jump in her chest. Baekhyun's expression remained blank as he acknowledged her with a small nod in her direction. When the unfamiliar hotness gathered on her cheeks she decided that it was better to hurry up before Mrs. Byun ended up in a crisis.
She had at first no idea where she was supposed to go to find these groceries, but by asking the nice and kind elders for directions, she managed to find her way to the bazaar of the island. Tents and stands of different products greeted her cheerfully, every seller trying to get her to buy some of their things. Fruits, fresh butter and sugar, meat and so much more, she had no idea where to look. Every stand had unique ingredients and products that she had never seen before, not even in her previous city. If she had thought that the bakery was crowded she had underestimated the meaning of that word until she stepped foot into the bazaar where people oozed like a sea to the places that had their necessities before they would outsell. Chatters echoed in the air and the many people walking around made clouds of dust rise from the sandy ground. Weeds overgrowing on the cracked walls and small flowers orating every plant, the place seemed to have jumped out of a historical movie. She was in utter awe.
Her feet were aching painfully with each step that she took, it had Indeed taken her at least two hours to get herself to this damned place and the one time she wasn't prepared, she was wearing those useless sandals she would have to throw away once back home.
Although there were already two heavy bags hanging from each of her hands, there was still half of the list to buy and at that rate, she wondered how she'd ever get herself all the way up to the bakery with all of those things. Hence, she had no idea if she could remember the way back home. It was nearing five o'clock when the bazaar started getting emptier and emptier, though, she had still to get a few more ingredients. The people of the island seemed to be the early kind of people, for literally anything, she thought, remembering how her city used to be alive until the late night.
Six bags and it would have been an extreme underestimation to refer to them as heavy, it felt as if they were tearing her wrists apart. The deep orange of the sunset was starting to fade into a light violet shade. Yet again, she was to be awed by the beauty of nature that this island so wonderfully was enlightening. She liked to believe it was God that was having the time of his life, fading and coloring the sky during the day so that he could eventually sprinkle the small shining stars for everyone to see. The sky was indeed so beautiful at this time of the day when two different colors like orange and violet melted together on the same canvas as if they belonged together, clouds soft and subtle like flowers as they got coated in the colors of the sunset. Although the day brought with itself warmth and sweat, she couldn't say the same for the night. It wasn't nearly as cold it could be in other places, but she had been wearing only a skirt with a thin long-sleeved shirt, the shivers had eventually found their way under her skin. The weights of the many plastic bags weren't helping the numbing and cold feeling in her wrists. By sundown, the streets were completely empty as well as the bazaar, the tents, and fruit stands nowhere to be seen, the paths enlightened by the weak, yellow lights of the street lamps.
A big sigh escaped her lips as she stood by a street lamp, she had wandered helplessly for thirty minutes without finding her way, thirty minutes without even seeing anything that she remotely recognized from this morning, the thought that she might not be home tonight started to get to her. Helplessly, her heart picked up its speed as she felt it crash violently against her ribs. The dark was suddenly becoming intimidating and every rustle, every noise, made her jump.
"I am so, so stupid! She blamed herself in a whisper, "I should've told Mrs. Byun that I can't find my way here yet," although blaming herself couldn't certainly solve the situation, she couldn't help herself, there was nothing that could make her feel at ease in this empty and dark alley that she had gotten herself into.
"Oh my gosh- What if I will have to wait until the morning to get home? What if someone comes and-?" She interrupted herself in the middle of her sentence as a new thought came into her mind: "Did nobody seriously notice I took so long? Will nobody search for me?" Thin tears started glassing her eyeballs and it took all of her strength not to break down into hysteric sobs, swallowing down the dry feeling lumping and scratching in her throat.
She was torn between trying to find her way and staying where she was in case someone was actually searching for her. The six grocery bags that barely overflowed with content stood next to her as she dried her face from the small panicked tears that she hadn't been able to stop after all. When she least expected it, the noise of footsteps started reaching her ears, echoing from a direction that she couldn't put her finger on yet. In a swift movement, her hands were on her ears, blocking out the noises that were causing her fear while she prayed to God that it wouldn't be a murderer thirsty for blood because she wasn't ready to die.
"What are you doing- Where have you been?" The sudden voice had petrified her so much that she feared her soul leaving her body. Instead of trembling in quiet fear, she could no longer stop the shivering scream that had been bubbling in her throat, making birds move from their current positions and fly to another tree. Eyes wild and full of fear, she was to be surprised by the sight of a sweaty Baekhyun heaving deep breaths with his chest, looking at her with something that resembled worry, though she couldn't pinpoint it exactly.
"Baekhyun..." She breathed out with both relief and disbelief dripping from her words.
"I got lost-" She almost sobbed when she recalled the hours she had spent in fear, thinking she'd be stuck outside for the entire night with nowhere to go.
The girl couldn't read the emotions on Baekhyun's face, but she knew that it was not anger, neither irritation. It wasn't positive either, though. As he made his way towards her, his hard eyes seemed to soften with every step he took, shrugging the gray sweater off his shoulders and draping it gently around her shoulders, her senses immediately shook by the incredibly comforting scent of fabric softener and musk, making her body relax visibly.
"You must have been scared," The blue-eyed boy murmured while he adjusted the clothing on her, almost as if he were cooing, which made her eyes widen and a little beat skip in her frantic heart. His voice was so soft and caressing. His momentary closeness gave her the chance to properly take in his features, noticing how incredibly soft his skin was- yet contrasted greatly to the sharpness of his cheekbones and jaw. No matter how long she'd contemplate them, his eyes were the most mesmerizing thing she'd ever set her gaze upon, blue eyes. They looked like ice blue sapphires ornated by his thin and long eyelashes that would cast a subtle shadow down his cheeks as they kissed them.
Before she knew it, his presence in front of her was already gone and she was being helped up, Baekhyun's gentle fingers curled around her wrists as he pulled her up.
"Let's go, the others are worried." He spoke tenderly, taking the majority of the grocery bags, leaving her with the two least heavy ones to carry.
"Wait! Give me a bag, we can make it fair!" She insisted while falling in steps with the boy, though, he only shook his head quietly at her.
"It's okay this way." She didn't protest any further and let her eyes wander up to the dark night sky, missing the way that Baekhyun shot a quick glance at the red marks forming around her wrists.
☀️☀️☀️
It was just eight in the morning when she was dragging a whiny and tired Jongdae down the streets of the island. Even this early in the morning, the streets were as busy as ever, with people opening their shops and delivering things on their bikes- and if fancy enough- motorcycles. As always, the sun was shining ever so brightly and near the bazaar was a gentle breeze that smelled like salt- a breeze from the sea not too far. To be frank, she had forced the poor Jongdae with her because she had no desire of getting lost again, and she really, really wanted to get this one thing for a specific someone... The thought that she was doing this made her cheeks flare up uncontrollably. Sure, it was in her to be friendly and bubbly, but she still wasn't used to doing such things to thank someone. Well, she didn't really have to- but she had this urge surging from within her that she wasn't able to ignore.
And that was how she found herself in front of the little fruit stand at the bazaar, eyeing the different boxes with fresh and newly washed strawberries attentively, wondering which one would taste the absolute best. The lady had throughout the girls' immense staring never wavered the kind and patient smile on her face. Nonetheless, it was evident that she wished for her to hurry since there was starting to form a rather long line behind her. In the end, she settled with the box that seemed to have the biggest and juiciest strawberries, they should be the sweetest, she reasoned. At the gates of the bazaar was Jongdae tapping his foot as if he'd been waiting for hours when it had only been about ten minutes.
"Jongdae~" She sang happily with the small bag dangling from her fingers, he was on his way to complain about her taking her time but the subtle shyness in her smile made him swallow it down. He had no idea why she had with so much insistence dragged him to the market- much less what she had bought, but something in the soft hue on her cheeks told him it hadn't been the easiest decision for her to take. Perhaps, he shouldn't bring down her spirits.
"So, what did you get?" He asked curiously, eyeing her from the corner of his eyes as they walked next to each other. "If I may ask," He added, just to be polite, even though he usually didn't care about such manners. Immediately, her cheeks blushed a little more, a cough escaping her throat.
"Well... I-" She started uncertainly, " I got lost yesterday, and Baekhyun went to find me, and- good God knows how long he's been searching for me- I just wanted to thank him and so I-"
"Hold up- hold up, you got lost?!" He exclaimed, he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
"Yes well, didn't you notice?" She answered with yet another question, though the boy could only press his lips into a thin line, she laughed. "You're unbelievable."
"But I don't blame you," She sighed as she breathed in the breeze rustling through her locks. "It was such a busy day for you guys, I was just causing trouble." She mumbled, a little regretfully. Jongdae nodded in agreement.
"It was a busy day, but don't blame yourself for getting lost. You're new here, so it's only normal." A gentle smile graced his lips, different from the mischievous expressions he'd normally show. In all honesty, it was such a welcoming smile that she could only remark how she had needed that kind of interaction ever since she'd come here. She felt less lonely. She liked that expression on him, she decided. His hand went to ruffle the crown of her hair affectionately and she just laughed, a little shyly.
"Thank you," She spoke breathily, "Thank you for being so nice to me although I have nothing to do with this place, although I invaded the peace of this island." Before she knew it- deeper meanings were starting to spill from her lips and Jongdae's face gradually grew more concerned.
"When I'm with you- With Junmyeon, even Baekhyun and his family, I- I don't feel as lonely, truly it's just-" She stopped midway her sentence, Jongdae saw the regret flashing through her eyes as she dug her teeth into her lips as she shook her head dismissively.
"I'm sorry for rambling, just, just know that I appreciate it." She settled with giving him the brightest smile she could muster, although at the moment she felt like doing anything but that. She couldn't tell, but the boy next to her had possibly caught on her dishonesty. Though, from what she had seen these past weeks was that Jongdae, as much as he could whine, he wasn't someone who forced himself on people and demanded them to open up.
"You should know that you're warmly welcome on this island as well as in the Byun Bakery, and we all appreciate your presence," Jongdae spoke, looking above at the spotless sky.
"Although you came out of nowhere, you're like an unsolved mystery, but you're like a breath of fresh air, you know? It's what this island needs." He then reassured, as if he hadn't done the necessary yet. He sent her a tight-lipped smile, cocking his head to the side and his curly hair followed, waving softly in the wind. She could only smile back at him, her heart swelled with thankfulness. What had she done to deserve such goodness? Her whole life had she been damned, and now that she was receiving what she had never had- it almost felt like she wasn't worth it, she was starting to question things. Perhaps these people were too good for her, who nobody could ever love.
"Thank you Jongdae."
"I know we've barely known each other for three weeks, but know that if you need to talk, I'm here, and Junmyeon is a really great listener too. Truly, as cold as he can make himself look, Baekhyun is too. So don't hesitate."
she let the words sink into her skin like ink, wondering whether she was worth any of the help she was being offered.
The bell cringed against the door as she and Jongdae stepped inside the bakery, immediately catching sight of Junmyeon and Baekhyun absorbed into a conversation. Their aprons were still tied to their bodies, showing her that they were only on break. The girl felt the slightest nervous and sweat was forming in her palms, but she couldn't back away. She wasn't going to. Swallowing her fear she let a smile take over her features as she approached the boys. All it took to gain Baekhyun's attention- Junmyeons too- was the light clearing of her throat. Baekhyun had a blank expression as he met her gaze, not really showing her whether he was surprised, happy or annoyed even. She could never tell with Baekhyun.
She pushed the bag of fresh strawberries gently into his chest, madly ignoring the urge to hide her furiously heated cheeks behind the curtain of her hair and running away. But instead, she held his gaze, because indeed, whenever the boy showed emotions, it was such a beauty on his traits that she could not just miss that opportunity- she wanted to treasure the small, meaningful things.
"Thank you for looking for me and helping me out, I really owe you a lot" She almost exclaimed out of nervousness, nonetheless, the memory of his soft sweater being wrapped around her made a sweet smile erupt on her lips and she added a more genuine and breathy; "Thank you, really."
Baekhyun's eyebrows shot up in great surprise- when he checked the content of the bag, it was fair to say that a sweet little blush caressed his cheeks.
"For me?" It was disbelief mixed with shock in his voice, although extremely muffled by his mumbling, her heart sped up because of the diversity of expression he was showing her. Immediately, she nodded frantically.
"You like them, strawberries, right?" Her smile widened and Baekhyun's gaze dropped once again to the fresh berries in the paper bag, he nodded contently.
"Thank you,- Hey!" When Jongdae had happily reached for a strawberry, Baekhyun had been fast to swat his hand away, leaving Jongdae with a sad pout on his lips and rubbing his hand dramatically. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the boy, though she almost thought she'd hallucinated when a soft chuckle pushed past his lips as he shook his head fondly. Perhaps he wasn't as cold as she had made him out to be.
He just had very guarded walls around himself, just like herself. He didn't know her enough to let her witness things such as smiles. Now she was sure that she was coming to comprehend Baekhyun's persona even slightly better, just a tiny bit. She realized once again, that she wanted to know and understand more about Byun Baekhyun.
☀️☀️☀️
A loud scream echoed into the night, the girl bolted awake with her heart crashing against her ribs and her chest desperately screaming for oxygen. A hand traveled to her chest as she tried to take in her surroundings as the cold air burned against her sweaty skin. This wasn't her room- in fact, she wasn't even indoors. The images of the nightmare were still fresh and cutting into her heart as it clenched. Nightmares about how the marks on her body came to be, nightmares that brought her back to the reason why she was here. She was despairingly trying to forget- to bury her past in the depth of herself, where no one would ever find it, not even herself. But here she was, constantly reminded that she couldn't run away from something that was a part of her. Why, why! why? Why couldn't she just live a new life here on this island, without having to remember who she actually was?
Glancing around her, she finally realized that she was on the rooftop of the building. The night was the darkest while the full moon the only source of light together with the small shining dots all over the sky. She had been stargazing just a few moments ago when she had eventually fallen asleep.
"What's going on!?" A sudden voice yelled from the doorstep of the rooftop, scaring her once again, another yelp leaving her lips. The boy with the torch sprinted his way onto the rooftop, only to find her there, sprawled on the ground, hair messy and breaths quick. Baekhyun's expression was unreadable, his cheeks highlighted by the lightning of the torch, his eyelashes casting a long shadow down his skin.
"B-baekhyun?" She breathed out, still recovering from the scare of her nightmare.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?!" He sounded angry as he fell to his knees in front of her, despite his words, checking if she was okay. His eyes widened at the sight of her face, he seemed shocked and still for a moment- but before she knew it-and him too, his left hand had flown to her face, fingertips gently tracing the fresh stains of tears on her cheeks.
"You're...You're crying." He pointed out, his voice becoming incredibly softer as his eyes danced all over her features as if in a trance. Baekhyun didn't pull away until the girl did suddenly turned her face in the opposite direction, hands flying to her cheeks, drying the water she didn't know had been pooling from her eyes. She wondered why the hell her heart was beating so violently- it wasn't like when she had been scared from her dream, it was making her legs feel weak and timid.
"I- I was stargazing but then I fell asleep, and I- I had a nightmare." She rambled quickly while covering her red and swollen eyes with the cold tips of her fingers, attempting to cool them down. Baekhyun only let out a sigh before taking his oversized sweater off, and just like last time, he draped it on her shoulders, murmuring soft words: "You have a thing for being outside in the night, don't you? You will eventually catch a fever, dress warmly at least." And there it went again- her heart stuttering at his gestures, his actions, and movements. Why..?
"Byun Baekhyun," She called, almost in a daze as she let her eyes travel along the highlighted lines of his face, admiring the way his ice-blue irises were so clear when exposed to the light of the torch. He only hummed while fixing his sweater upon her body.
"You...You're always so distant, so far away...And yet so unseasonably warm..." At this point, she was just speaking her mind without really realizing what she was saying, because her true self would have never dared to say the next sentence that she murmured so softly, so pleadingly as she did.
"Will you let me in?" But the comforting scent of his washing over her was setting her under a beautiful daze. Despite her frantic heart, she felt mesmerized by Baekhyun that under the moonlight seemed to resemble a star himself, a diamond, anything that shone, really. She wasn't expecting an answer from the boy, hence, she didn't even know if he had an idea of what she meant. Baekhyun was still in a crouched position in front of her as he let the words sink in, though there was a fair distance between the two.
"No, I can't." She had no idea why she felt her heart crack at the cold tone in his voice, they didn't know each other that well, why did it matter anyway? She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded understandingly. "Right, sorry." It was barely a whisper, but she was sure he heard it.
Once again, Baekhyun took her by surprise when he broke the silence- something so simple and granted- but not to her, as far as she knew, Baekhyun would never willingly start a conversation with her if it wasn't for obvious reasons.
"You were yelling in your sleep, are you okay now?" He sounded hesitant while speaking, a little embarrassed too, as if the awkwardness brought by his past answer was weighing on him as well. The girl did recall screaming in her dream but she hadn't expected herself to have done it in her sleep.
"I am okay and sorry for waking you up." She apologized while fiddling with the sleeves of baekhyun's sweater, its fabric was fluffy and gentle against her fingers.
"No, it's okay, I wasn't asleep yet."
"Why?" She hadn't thought before asking, in fact just a second later, her lips pressed into a thin line, regretting that she hadn't shut it. Baekhyun was already hesitant in her regards, this wasn't doing it. But he answered anyway.
"On nights like these," He mumbled while turning his face to the sky, in his orbs reflected the full moon.
"I can't fall asleep on nights like these."
☀️☀️☀️
Half of her day had already gone, flown by, and it all without her seeing a single trace of Baekhyun. He had been nowhere in the kitchen and neither at the cashier or serving people. But it was only during her lunch break that she had dared to ask. Her and Junmyeon were eating at a table by the glass wall that gave a view over the town and the sea.
"Where is Baekhyun? I haven't seen him today." She questioned, trying to sound as unbothered as possible while in fact, she was dying to know, her heart beating loudly in her chest and body tensed.
"At the beach," Junmyeon replied solemnly while gazing absentmindedly out at the view, eyes lost in the island's beauty.
"The beach?" She repeated dumbly, confused by the answer.
"He always spends his days by the beach at this time of the month," Came another voice from behind her, she didn't have to turn around to know that it was Jongdae. He was standing behind her chair, gazing out just like his brother was.
"This time of the month?" She repeated once again.
"The days after a full moon", Jongdae sighed.
"At one moment," Junmyeon started quietly, "Baekhyun would be gazing at the sea with hopeful and yearning eyes, and in the next second he would be raging against it, watching it with hatred and betrayal, as if it had taken his most precious things away from him." Everything the Kim brothers were saying was making less and less sense, but she couldn't stop listening.
Junmyeon continued;
"And in a way, it has."
☀️☀️☀️
Heeeeelllo!!! Here we have chapter 2! I apologize if it was a bit repetitive TT, I hope you liked it nonetheless!! More things are coming to the surface but not quite yet, hahaha 😝
What are your thoughts so far? Ooze your theories!!! I want to know what you guys think is happening/has happened! What are your guesses for oc's and Baekhyun's past? Let me know!
Also thank you so infinitely much for reading, you all know how I've given up on writing series multiple times and it means so much that you guys are supporting me. All the love, P!💞💕💌✨
