Work Text:
“You're the fourth woman I've seen this month. Why do you think this will work?”
Byun Baekhyun wore a beautiful black suit. The clothes made him look elegant and mature. It gave him an aura of royalty, even if he was only 17 years old. His hair was tidy to the side, a large layer of gel kept the wires firm so they wouldn’t mess with the wind. He was handsome and in a hurry.
He sat sloppy in his chair, wanting to get out of that place. He didn’t want to see another woman, but his mother obliged him to go. She literally begged, bursting into tears so he would see just one more woman that month.
His mouth felt dry and it bothered him, so he licked his lips while listening to the woman sitting before him. They had begun to talk only now, even with him there for nearly an hour without saying anything. The moment he decided to open his mouth, they talked at a perfect rhythm, she asked and he responded promptly.
“It's not my place to answer that question.” She replied, cautiously. “Do you want to make this work?”
“No.” He answered plainly and thickly.
“Why are you wearing a suit in the middle of summer?”
“Because I want to.”
“The heat doesn't bother you?”
“The only thing that bothers me is you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you're wasting my time.”
“I understand. So where would you like to be? Not here, I suppose.”
“Not at home. Just anywhere else.”
“Why don't you want to stay in your house?”
“You can guess.”
“No, you tell me.”
“My house sucks and so does here.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because it's the truth, isn't it obvious?”
“Tell me a place you like.”
“The movie theater.”
“Why?”
“What do you think? That's where my friends and I meet. It's our place!”
“Did you watch a lot of movies there?”
“Not really. We stay in an old room until it gets dark.”
“Who would you go there with?”
“My friends. Are you stupid?”
“My apologies. Can you tell me their names?”
“Chanyeol, Sehun, Jongin and Kyungsoo.”
“When was the last time you spoke to them?”
“Last night.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Why do you want to know?”
”Can’t I know?”
“Whatever! We talked about Kyungsoo’s new film.”
“Oh. What is it about?”
“Men in suits obsessed with flowers.”
“Is that why you're wearing a suit today?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
“What else do you remember?”
“Of what?”
“Last night with your friends. What else did you talk about?”
“A lot of things.”
“Can't you tell me?”
“I don't want to.”
“Okay. Where are you going today?”
“To meet with my friends.”
“Where?”
“At the movies. We're shooting Kyungsoo’s film today.”
“In the old room where you hang out?”
“Yes.”
Baekhyun didn't understand how she managed, since he tried his best to be unpleasant. Rather, she just kept asking questions and jotted them down in her white notebook, her eyes never letting him go.
He hated white.
That’s why the color of his suit was black. He hated white.
Byun Baekhyun wore a beautiful black suit. His clothes made him look elegant and mature. They gave him an aura of royalty. His hair was tidy to the side, a large layer of gel kept the wires together. And his face, his handsome face was covered with eyeliner and lipstick. His skin, so soft and shiny, was burned, scarred and dead.
When leaving the woman's house, he hummed the melody that Chanyeol wrote especially for him to sing in Kyungsoo's movie. The song was about flowers. He was so immersed and focused on singing it that he forgot to notice the looks directed at him, the whispers and the frightened faces of the children who ran from him.
Byun Baekhyun passed by the city's newsstand, all smiling and happy, humming at the top of his lungs to the tune Chanyeol had wrote. He was so immersed in the song, so happy, that he forgot to read the headlines displayed on the front page of the city newspaper.
Today it completed four months since the fire that devastated the local cinema.
The tragedy left 8 wounded and 14 dead, among them, the son of the owner of the Cinema, Park Chanyeol, and his three friends Oh Sehun, Kim Jongin and Do Kyungsoo.
The expertise has not yet discovered the cause of the fire.