ONE AFTERNOON

Sequel Part/1
 

Her apartment in Lyon was not far away from Saône. Out in the late afternoon, Taeyeon sat in a black furnished bench with an unfinished novel on her laps, from her view at the riverbank trailed along the aquatic-colored reflection of the quiescent city, she could catch the sight of people of all kind, tourists, old couples, and workers in suit and tie cozily savored in the taste of coffee under the cover across the river.

She didn’t know how long did she stay like this so absentmindedly at this place that the track of time was long lost between seconds, minutes, and hours. Putting the hardback book into her long-strapped shoulder bag, when she lifted her head up again the river was glit with a coat of goldeness, as if the artist of the city had fallibly poured the paint of gloaming dusk into the transparent water.

Taeyeon clutched both hands around her long beige cardigan, the nightfall breeze sauntered down the riverbank as chilliness of autumn in Lyon finally arrived in the season, scarlet oak trees and other botanical plants susurrated the rustling whisper along the night continued to travel from one block to another. Hair slightly messy from the current, inhaling, she stood up from the bench and walked off to the quiet European street.

It was the sixth month since they parted, since she saw his face, since the last time she broke down in Baekhyun’s arms with him caressing her teary face full of affection. Right after she left the mansion she went to Britain to finish her university study at the beginning of September, chasing after what she wanted. Mrs. Kim was first disappointed when she declined the handover of the company, but the old lady consented her discretion at last. Freedom granted her the first breath, but not long after, as an exchange student she was sent to Lyon.

Indeed it was her dream to take a trip to the city, she was supposed to feel accomplished, yet it gave one more reason to miss Baekhyun more. Taeyeon remembered the painting of the church, the things he told her about the city and now whenever she went his stable baritone would slipped out from her memory and made her heart churned in bittersweetness. It was hard to endure those lonely hours without him, she missed him so much at first she always cried herself to sleep, as she started to get a hold of the new life did she control her emotion. She knew she needed to grow up, to be more mature to follow his pace.

They both didn’t have much time in contacting with each other. Usually it was letters, Baekhyun used to about how she worshipped technology over classy ways, now she began to learn and understand the beauty within classiness, the letter itself was one of them and the reason she started to like this newly introduced style, starting to cherish them, keeping them safe in a box with all the stamps in same direction as she placed them carefully, and the tiny sparkles of bliss would douse her heart with syrup between each read of line. Months passed, time was wearing away in hecticness, partially because she was too busy in the college works; assignment, essays, reports were driving her nuts and tortured her eyes until midnight. Her days were occupied full and her time was tight, without even realizing the cutoff of the letters she was already in Lyon.

     And it was then, suddenly, the frequency broke.

Taeyeon would wonder how has he been doing, she didn’t receive any letters or messages in other forms since she got to Lyon, so Baekhyun must be busy as well.

But what now? She was always the quiet one, she wouldn’t have the courage to write him herself, even if he was someone used to be intimate to her. Used to be. Fear wallowed her deep in the darkest thought from her mind, what if it was different now.

It was a mellowing feeling sprinkled with popping tickle of bile, it was very soft, yet it was an asphyxiation to the sense of security. There wasn’t any confirmation from him, and she wasn’t certain about her own feelings towards the matter.

Did everything start to change?

If time was a long strand of eternity, emotion, this fleetingly quickness and unstable insubstantiality only measured a millionth of a millimeter. Things changed. And she had no answer upon whether the everything between them had already turned into something different from the past.

Time and distance always had the faculty to wear away things we cherished.

Hopefully between them, it was still the same, only when she looked back it disappeared before her eyes.

A tinge of paleness, at first it was just a speck of refracted street light but Taeyeon realized they were bright parchment yellow, the paleness however was almost too unfitting in the night. As her right hands rested casually on the top of her shoulder bag she approached near to the color and discovered it wasn’t just a color but a face with pale complexion, a male face and as soon as the lights shed glimmer on it she recognized the person, and it was all like a dream when she came to stand a few meters away from the male, either a daydream or nightmare, or maybe the integrated both.

Sehun was in Lyon.

They sat down in a cafe, exchanging casual words as if old friends were reunited after years of separation, only between them, there wasn’t any deeply associated friendship but she was glad to see him again. Sehun, cold on the outside nevertheless had a slush of something rare in his brown eyes, a drizzly shade of geniality.

He stretched a smile, not too wide to entirely melt down the glacial impression entrenched in Taeyeon’s memory of him but not too contrived, she could sense he was comfortable. Sehun changed.

“It has been a while.”

He said, fingers tapping on the porcelain coffee mug into a frail rhythm of melody, each light click on the sleek material he did was like a day passed by, as if counting, as if lamenting over the past tense.

“Family,” The white vapor from the hot cappuccino coiled in the air. “They miss the time back then.”

Jongin was in charge of her grandmother’s corporation, now she had understood her parents sent him to America when he was born, it was all a matter of succession, handover, privilege and legal rights to own the company. Taeyeon shook her head sadly. Hyoyeon and Tamin stayed but Yuri left, while the other elites stayed with Mrs. Kim in the mansion, sometimes they would help with the corporations well.

“I didn’t know you were in Lyon.”

Taeyeon raised a brow, I didn’t know you were Lyon too.

“Baekhyun hyung didn’t know.”

And there was a fizzling force struck on the softest soil of her inner garden, the name she never spoke out since then even her heart was missing it like crazy, everyday when streaks of mackled sunlights spilled through the curtain, through thin sheer cotton and as her consciousness blossomed in her bed she would smiled at the thought of him, and died down at the absence of him. Sehun’s words were but the most powerful clout. Uneasy silence filled in the thin autumn air although not much customers were on the need.

Taeyeon pressed her lips into a rigid line before looking at the pale skin male.

“He didn’t know.” Sehun craned forwards, “You didn’t tell him?”

“I...” Now had she realized he was inferring right, she didn’t. The decision of exchanging to Lyon was made hastily she was afraid even her friends in Britain haven’t learnt such a news and she didn’t inform her grandmother, it was a rush and everything was keeping her compacted.

“You call him ‘hyung’?” Taeyeon quickly switched the topic of their conversation, the male sitting across didn’t seem to mind. Sehun nodded, at least he kept the habit of reticence and reservedness, and she did not expect him to respond her with an actual audible “yes”.

“I found out.”

The maknae twitched the corner of his lips. “I apologize for my attitude previously, alas, it would not be the same after all.”

“Em.”

She hummed, it was a relief that Sehun and Baekhyun had reconciled but her mind was somewhere else, staring down at the hot coffee mug that kept emitting flows of milky translucency, her eyes were fogged with a layer of blurry haze.

“Taeyeon.”

She looked up to Sehun, from the swarming white gas clouded over her vision she saw his face unreadable under the buzzing fluorescent lamp hung on the ceiling of the little cafe shop.

    

“Don’t let him down again.”

She tugged a small smile, the color of her pale skin danced the misery lonelier than the sole sail drifting in the Saône River against the sad skies of France.

Taeyeon watched her fingertips went waxen around the cup. “I’ve always thought he is the one who’s going to say that to me.”

“It's not my problem." Sehun lied on the back of the chair, knuckles clinked slow on the glass table. "If you're uncertain, you know who you should speak to. I met you by chance, but he has lost your position months ago."

At the end Sehun left, of course, Taeyeon watched the gaunt maknae treading into the tarred blackness of the night with both hands dug into the side of