ᴰ ᴿ ᴬ ᴳ ᴼ ᴺ

“everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

the words were his attempt at being comforting and warm as his hand carefully held dooyoung’s hand in his. it was a rather loose hold, but he figured that anything tighter would feel suffocating for the both of them. instead, he gave the other a small smile, ducking his head just the slightest bit to try to meet his gaze.

The music was slow and soft in Yifan’s ears as he moved with the other, a hand just firm enough on Baekhyun’s waist while the other held his hand gingerly in his own. He moved his fingers along Baekhyun’s quietly, his eyes fixed on the way they drifted against his. His shoulders relaxed visibly, and it wasn’t until Baekhyun spoke up that dark brown eyes met the other’s, thick eyebrows furrowing in a faint look of pity while the corner of his mouth lifted in a bit of a smile.

“It’s not about being good enough,” he murmured gently, pressing their foreheads together as they swayed to the slow music, eyes never leaving his. He felt his chest tighten as he took a faint breath between parted lips, searching his gaze to find someway to comfort him. 

“what are you saying..,” he chuckled, a gummy smile appearing on his face as he put his hands into the pockets of his coat. he didn’t think he was doing anything bad by looking curiously at the other, but he supposed that it would be strange if he wound up looking for a little longer than intended. still, he wanted to have a bit of fun with it.

It wasn’t early in the morning anymore, but the feeling of being up since 3am doing photoshoots in the light of dawn had finally hit him. His hair was a mess and every now and again, his head would be as heavy as bricks. The coffee in front of him was warm to the touch, but he still hesitated to drink it for now out of fear of burning his tongue. 

Still, his hands wrapped around it and he let out a deep sigh, looking down at the drink with an owlish blink. It was only after a few seconds that he looked up at the other with a slightly raised brow.

“You don’t have to worry, I promise that everything is alright…”

It wasn’t exactly true, but it was all he could say at a time like this. The anxiety that had come out of a random number calling him and texting him such threatening things had made his fingertips freeze. The moment he slipped his hand under his sleeve to hide it, he felt himself ruin another watch with the biting cold of his touch. 

He immediately averted his gaze and turned away, taking the opportunity to get a good look at the damage. Just as he thought, the watch was frozen solid on his wrist, and the cool breeze that funneled through the skyscraper-riddled street only made him even more sure that things would become worse if he didn’t calm down.

Being that it was getting closer to winter, Yifan thought that perhaps he would be able to take a walk outside for just a few minutes. Some fresh air, he reasoned, would do him well after being stuck on a plane for ten hours. It seemed like a good enough plan; he’d be home before it got too late anyway.

However, not long after he left outside and the sun peeked its way through the thin clouds and let the warm heat hit his skin, the model began to feel dizzy and faint, needing to step into the shade for a few moments to recover. Still, the warm, stuffy air made him feel as if he were suffocating, and he cursed his susceptibility as the eyes of the pedestrians around him looked at him with concern. When he finally let his eyes close as he hung his head, he felt only the slightest bit of relief.

Blinding white lights were the next thing he saw, and the feeling of sheets that weren’t his own made him sit up in the hospital bed. Groaning, he turned to see the clothes on his bed and his phone on the table beside him. He turned at the voice and almost immediately deadpanned at the condescending tone.