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 .

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 , 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 aga