PARIS ; 14:00

                    The smell of dust and books were what had woken him up. His back ached from his unmoving position, and as he squinted his eyes and sat up, he felt the hardbound book which he had seemingly laid on since the night before resting on top of his sheets, slightly folded at the sides and a little worn. Baekhyun let out a long yawn, before he stretched his arms out and heard the quiet cracks of his bones. 
 

The sound of the busy Parisian streets caused a small, sad, smile to form along his lips, as he gently lifted himself out of his bed to take a quick shower before heading to his lectures. 
 

Byun Baekhyun was a sad, but oh so beautiful boy. Byun Baekhyun was happy once, and he hated to admit how things have changed greatly in the span of a few years. 
 

Byun Baekhyun was sad— he had been ever since he never even stepped foot in the city of Paris. The city was an escape, but this escape turned out to be another set of labyrinths he could never solve. He was stuck, and he was destined to feel that way forever— confused, angry, and so, so, so, sad.
 

The rusty, large mirror he hung just right before his bedroom door revealed everything he had in him. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks were hollow, and his lips were chapped and pale. His sweater which once fit him so perfectly hung over his protruding bones and exposed him. 
 

It exposed how an angel who was once in heaven fell directly into the hell called earth. 
 

"I have to be more," he whispered softly to himself. Byun Baekhyun thought of himself as lacking, and it hurt him and angered him and made him sad. Sad, sad, sad.
 

He skipped his meal that day. His stomach hurt and his bones asked for oxygen, but he refused to let them get to him and allow them control over his body for he only obeyed the voice residing inside his head— the voice which made hin perfect and beautiful, but sad.
 

Sad, sad, sad, such redundant repeating words— but that was his reality— grief. 
 

It was not long enough before his ankles grew sore from cycling. Paris and everything it contained never ceased to amaze him everyday, as he rode his bicycle anywhere, everywhere. Everything in the city expressed their own sense of style and originality. It made him want to sit on the bay window of his apartment and sip coffee while gazing out into the aesthetically pleasing streets. 
 

Baekhyun spotted his university coming near and he cycled a little too fast until he reached the campus. He latched his bycicle under the shade of a tree, and jogged inside to catch his lecture just on time. His watch dangled loosely from his wrist from having it shrink too much, and his fingers were filled with band-aids as they struggled to carry his large stack of school books. 
 

The reason why Baekhyun chose to study in Paris was a little basic and not thoroughly planned, but he was the son of a rich businessman— a supposed heir to their empire, so whatever he wanted was easily given to him. He was the detached son who lived independently while using the money he got from his father. Baekhyun was initially the next heir his father wanted, but he passed on the role to his older sister instead, because Baekhyun wanted to study Psychology. He wanted to achieve something he truly wanted and chose the farthest and the most appealing country from South Korea to study his desired degree. 
 

He felt selfish, using his family's money while avoiding contact with them, but they cared too much for him. His father sent him monthly allowances and his older sister would, too— but oftentimes she would only send him gifts like expensive clothes and shoes since she knew Baekhyun liked to express himself greatly with whatever he wore.
 

The classroom was already half-filled when he arrived, and he found a seat on the second row just right beside the window, where he could observe the campus well and relax throughout the lecture. It was a few moments later when Professor Atkins, the only American professor in the university, entered and claimed his position on the large table up front. He was a man in his  mid-thirties, with clean, slicked back hair and square framed glasses. He was tall and lean, and most of the girl students liked to fawn over him all the time. He talked really nicely, though, which was probably the reason why Baekhyun paid attention to his lectures all the time. 

 

                             "Auditory Hallucinations, or also known as Paracusia, is a form of hallucination involving the perception of sounds without auditory stimulus, as we all know too well," Professor Atkins started, and as he continued to discuss further about hallucinations, Baekhyun couldn't help but to let his eyes travel beyond the classroom window, admiring the way the sunlight brought in soft, yellow hues miced with orange into the classroom. There were lots of trees scattered around, allowing the shadows to mark his skin from inside. He could hear the breeze even without the sound actually existing, and he could feel the way the wind would gently caress his skin as he yearned to sit outside on one of the campus benches and just relax for moments on end. 
 

This was exactly what he wanted— a sense of peace and relaxation with broiling coffee, soft croissants, his sneakers crunching against fallen leaves on the ground, and Paris— but why wasn't it all enough?