“Hi Taehyung. It’s me again.” 

A pause. He hears her breathing on the line, loud with nervousness. He imagines her fingers gripping onto her phone, the device pressed to her ear. 

“I know you’ve been busy, I just-- I wanted to talk to you.” she exhales a breath, “I guess you’re still at work huh?” she laughs softly, “There’s a lot going on right now. Everything’s just horrible. I… I don’t know what to do anymore.” 

Her voice cracks on the last few words as her tone drops into a hushed murmur, practically causing him to strain his ears to listen to the rest of her message. There’s a brief pause as he recollects his thoughts and tries not to think of how she must be feeling, all alone in her own apartment, cuddled on the couch as she tries not to let her emotions take over her sanity. 

“Taehyung, am I--” the words get choked up in , “am I a bad person?” 

And that’s when he hears the crack in her soft soprano, an indication that tears have started streaming down her face, “I try not to be. I think I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t do anything out of line. Yet, I feel like I’m always the punching bag. People take it all out on me.” she’s struggling to breathe, fighting with herself and her own internal demons as he keeps on listening with a pinch at the centre of his chest, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t understand.” 

She sighs then, as though realizing that all this time she had only been talking to herself and that this was actually a voice message without knowing that there had been someone who was actually listening in on her problems. He hears the shuffling of sound, probably the blanket that shifts as she moves about, before she speaks again after having regained a bit of power back into her voice.

“Anyway, I hope you had a good day. I’ll talk to you soon, I guess.” a small chuckle falls from her lips, except he isn’t sure whether it’s genuine or not, “Goodnight, Taehyung.” 

She hangs up. 

Baekhyun can only stare at the phone, wondering how many times this woman will be calling until his roommate finally decides to pick up the damn call and get rid of her already. 

It isn’t until Jinae sets down the receiver that the sobs racket up and break out into horrible, ugly tears that won’t seem to stop no matter how much she tries to rein them back. They get unleashed like wild beasts and soon enough she finds herself cowered into her blanket, limbs shaking in an attempt to muffle her sobs for fear that her roommates might hear her from their bedrooms. She’s gotten used to it, crying in silence. It’s like suffocating but once she got used to it, she’s become evidently skilled at choking back her tears and muting her voice. 

She has no idea how long she sits there, curled up on her bed with her forgotten phone in hand. Her tears have stopped running, now caked all over her cheeks and snot dribbling down her nose, practically carving salted wounds into her skin. She has calmed down from the turmoil of feelings that had raged through her a few minutes ago, but there is still that sense of hollowness, as if she can still cry even when she has just emptied her entire soul of water.

It’s been a few days since she’s last heard of her boyfriend, though he’d warned her about his hectic schedule that had been tailored according to the medical veterinary program he’d gotten into this semester. Jinae had been ecstatic at the news, excited that Taehyung was finally getting all the chances he deserved, but with chances and opportunities came sacrifices. The young man had had to move away to a new apartment because the veterinary college was in another location altogether, isolated from the main part of campus. 
And while Jinae had been all so proud about his achievement, she couldn’t help but feel her heart break the day she had to bid him goodbye. 

Taehyung had promised her he’d keep in touch. He’d promised her that they would make it work somehow and yet, she still hasn’t heard any sign of him. 

At first, his calls had been instant, his replies immediate. He’d picked up the phone whenever she called, as if he’d been standing there and waiting all along. He even called sometimes, whenever he had a break. Jinae had been happy then, to see that he’d been trying and making efforts on his side. 

But slowly, that effort has dwindled down the more time passed. His answers would come late and though he apologized every time he kept missing her calls, she’d told him it was fine, that it’s understandable since he’s so busy. 

And since he barely calls back, she decided to start leaving him voice messages on his home phone instead, for at least he could listen to them whenever he got home from classes. 

Yet, there is no acknowledgement of his part, no sign whatsoever that he appreciates her gestures and understanding. Jinae sometimes wonders if she’s being clingy or if this is how long distances work. Either way, she still feels hurt whenever he brushes her off. Of course he’s busy with his own life and of course he’s going to have priorities. She just wishes that sometimes, he actually remembers that Jinae is a part of his life as well, that she isn’t just there for him when he needs her. That a relationship is a two-way thing. 

Her phone buzzes in her hand. 

Jolting out of her thoughts, the phone slips out of her grasp and she quickly scrabbles for it, hands unsteadily finding it underneath the covers before her eyes widen at the fluorescent screen blinking with her said boyfriend’s name. 

Without missing a beat, Jinae swipes over the green button and presses the device to her ear. She’s practically breathless when she says, “Hello?” 

“Hello.” 

Her heart drops. 

It’s not Taehyung’s voice. 

Baekhyun shifts on his bed and proceeds to pillow his head onto his bent arm as he murmurs a soft ‘Hello.” into the phone. His heart is pounding so loud he can practically hear its echoing rhythm rattle through his body and through his ears. It might not have been the best idea to call that stranger back and Baekhyun is not someone to meddle in other people’s affairs. Yet, there was so much rawness in her voice, so much pain etched at the back of her soprano that he feels obligated to answer. 

She sounds like someone fighting many mental battles, and there’s just something about that that resonates understanding within him. 

Because in her voice he can hear himself talking. In her voice he can picture the young and lost man he’d been a few years back, lost and running towards nothing but an empty black hole of self-hatred. 

“Wh-Who are you?” Her voice picks up a higher tone, the panic rising as she blurts out a series of questions, “You’re not Taehyung. Where is he? What are you doing in his flat?” 

“Woah woah, calm down.” He chuckles, “I’m his roommate, Byun Baekhyun.” 

There’s a silence. He hears her breathing loudly, “R-Roommate?” She murmurs, almost as if she’s talking to herself, “You’re his roommate?” 

“He didn’t tell you?” Baekhyun frowns, “I’ve been living with him since the start of semester.” 

“No,” her words have dropped to a low murmur, “No he didn’t.” 

“Oh.” An awkward pause follows as Baekhyun tries to rack his brain for something to say, and he wonders why he’s even bothered to call her back when it’s not even his business. He shouldn’t have gotten himself into this, for now he can feel the awkwardness rising like a brick wall impossible to cut down. 

“Wait-- Have you been listening to the voicemail?” she suddenly asks. 

He presses his lips together to debate whether or not to tell the truth, before saying, “Yeah.”

A groan is heard from the other end of the line and he feels like laughing. There’s ruffling around, and he imagines her kicking at her blankets and running her hands through her hair in agitation and annoyance. She must be condemning herself for doing such a stupid thing, but then again, if she hadn’t known that Taehyung had a roommate, it’s obvious th