#candlelitconversations

[candlelitconversations]

Gerbera :: 07

:: baekhyun x oc ;; espionage au ;; angst/fluff :: 

It takes Kyungsoo’s team thirteen days before they finally track the location of the Round Table. That day when DK had attempted to ambush the Round Table meeting, they had been reverse-attacked, wiping out almost all of the skilled snipers and combaters that were in the assignment. Kyungsoo had been at the bases; with his team of back up ready to jump in should there be surprises. But they had been instructed firmly to not engage despite the clear deteriorating situation at hand, for fears of further compromise to the DK group. They had taken a large blow, and it was pure rage and grief that had fuelled the surviving men and women to continue their hunt for the Round Table. Unfortunately, Baekhyun had no tracker; Soohyun and Baekyhun were two of the few agents who never had a tracker inserted, with their destined roles for much more dangerous and high profile assignments where such a device would blow their covers. Kyungsoo had been made second in charge, and with the help of Baekhyun and Soohyun’s carefully collected intel from the years, had managed to track and decipher the message that had alerted the remaining Round Table members prior to the meeting, and thus avoid their ambush. Harnessing the coding from the message, Kyungsoo had managed to send a false message to the members, and gathered that a majority of them were in a safe house in Jeju Island. Using the code, Kyungsoo had set up a further meeting for the Round Table members to meet at said safe house.

Between his tireless days and nights planning and toiling, Kyungsoo made sure to check on Soohyun. She was still in the infirmary, and whilst they had managed to coax her to somewhat eat a decent amount on a daily basis, she was plagued by nightmares and panic attacks as she relived the moment of the bullet running through her body, and the subsequent sensation of blood rapidly draining out of her body as she lay hopelessly on the ground. It broke his heart to see his best friend in this state, her small frame becoming even smaller, and her eyes permanently pink from their overuse.

***

Kyungsoo is the one to find Baekhyun, and he is surprised by both how relatively unscathed he looks from physical injuries, but also how his gaunt face eerily matched that of Soohyun’s. He doesn’t ask Baekhyun what the Round Table have done to him, unsure whether he wants to find out about their forms of torture in detail. The mission is successful, and they take Hera amongst several others back to the DK headquarters for further questioning. The others are assassinated in the process, their bodies transported back to the South Korean government headquarters.

When Kyungsoo brings Baekhyun to the door leading to Soohyun’s room, Baekhyun finds himself rooted to the cold marble floor, his hands unable to bring themselves to the handle. Kyungsoo leaves him, understanding his need for space. Although Soohyun had never mentioned how she had come about losing her partner to the Round Table in the ambush, from how tormented the pair appeared Kyungsoo could only guess that the circumstances had been more than traumatic. For the top agents of their cohort to fail not only their assignment but also each other… Kyungsoo could only begin to imagine the emotions the two have had to live through for the past fortnight.

Perhaps that is why Kyungsoo was less than surprised when he came back in half an hour to find Baekhyun curled into foetal position, his body leaning on the still shut door, dried tears painting his face and expression unreadable. He hands clutching the small canvas of painted daisies.

***

The process continues, with Baekhyun coming back to lean against Soohyun’s door between meals and medical check-ups. Kyungsoo lets Soohyun know that their mission was a success, and that the Round Table were truly obliterated now. Soohyun doesn’t ask about Baekhyun, although Kyungsoo can tell from her eyes that she was desperate to find out. But until Baekhyun is able to open the door himself, Kyungsoo cannot bring himself to tell Soohyun that Baekhyun has been rescued.

It takes only two days for Soohyun to work out that Baekhyun was in the same building as her, in one of the oddest yet most spy-resque ways that Kyungsoo could have imagined. If the pair hadn’t been so clearly grim and depressed Kyungsoo may even have laughed at the situation. He had been visiting Soohyun that day, having almost walked over Baekhyun’s sleeping form. Soohyun hadn’t seen Baekhyun at the door (he himself had made sure of that), but she had smelt his familiar scent on Kyungsoo’s clothes, confronting Kyungsoo immediately about the situation. Desperate for some progress that would hopefully move the two along from this gridlock of a situation, Kyungsoo had told Soohyun everything: from how they had found Baekhyun to the way he had been clutching a painting at her door for days.  

Soohyun remained mute for a long while after hearing this. She stays still for so long that Kyungsoo begins to worry. Then she smiles – small, but genuine, and Kyungsoo feels just a little more at peace than he’s been for the past few weeks. She had always been the cheerful, optimistic one in their friendship, and to see her smile gave him a glimpse of her old self.

[velvetchen]

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[yoursforaday]

#redwinekisses #candlelitconversations @mccullochtyler #tmcchulloch #mccullochtyler

[candlelitconversations]

03.

Gerbera

:: baekhyun x oc ;; espionage!AU ;; angst/fluff ;; angstyangstangst ::

( masterlist :: 01 :: 02 )

“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.” – WH Auden, “The More Loving One”

As it turns out, heartbreak was to come much closer than Soohyun had anticipated. The air was chilly again, welcoming their second autumn together, with the first red leaves starting to adorn the maple trees of the streets. Soohyun had dinner ready – it was Baekhyun’s birthday and she had prepared a small dinner with a cake for two, complete with his favourite bottle of nebbiolo. As the hours ticked by, and her calls continued to be met with his voicemail, she began to worry and fear. Had they somehow blown their aliases? Had he been taken and held hostage? As she got ready to rush out of the door to try find him herself, gun in purse and overcoat pulled on, he had stumbled back into their apartment, reeking of vodka and utterly inebriated. And as she held him in her arms that night, him crying his heart out as he recalled how he had ran into her again, she felt the first cracks form in her heart.

Hera. He had met her on his first assignment in Italy. He was 22, young and eager to make his place in the world. She, just shy of 21, had somehow landed herself in the middle of his schemes. After that night, Baekhyun did not mention the matter again; avoiding any further questions that Soohyun sent his way. But from what she had made out from his drunken confessions that night, he had succeeded in his assignment at the expense of their relationship, having left her without notice and explanation. He had promised her the moon, and yet had not even been able to send a proper goodbye before disappearing. That was his first lesson as a DK agent: never form true relationships. Because that was the only way he could protect those around him, and he spent every night regretting ever having shown his reciprocation of affection for Hera.

And yet four years down the track, their paths had crossed again. Her being the representative from Italy, sent to Seoul to discuss and work on a deal with the Kim Corporation, represented by Baekhyun. He had feigned indifference, ignorance, as he shook her hand. But he didn’t miss the slight tremble in her hand, nor the way their eyes had locked before she looked away. And that night, all he could remember was those eyes, no amount of alcohol sufficient to take the pain away. As he clutched onto Soohyun’s torso, breaking down into her arms, all he could remember was the way Hera had always smelt of geraniums. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so inebriated and overcome by his own grief, he would realise the dampness of his pillowcase was not accounted for by only his tears. Perhaps he would remember the heartbroken expression that had painted Soohyun’s face as she cried with him, overwhelmed by her inability to take away the pain in his heart.

***

Baekhyun woke to the bright rays of midday sun that following morning, head pounding and eyes swollen, confused momentarily as he found his bed empty. Realising that it was in fact a weekday morning, he darted out of bed, tripping over the blankets and landing with a rather loud thud onto the thankfully carpeted floor. Untangling himself from the material, he realises the sticky note on his bedside table, accompanied by a thermos flask filled with honey camomile tea and a large litre bottle of water.

Tried calling in sick for you this morning, everyone thinks you had too much birthday sex :P

Despite how terrible he was feeling, the note pulled a laugh out of Baekhyun as he downed half the water in one gulp. Pouring the tea into the readied cup on his bedside table, Baekhyun struggled to recall the events of last night. For starters, he had completely forgotten it was even his birthday yesterday until he saw the note. And given how terrible the pounding was in his head, he could only imagine how out of it he would have been the night before, a wave of guilt washing over him. Had Soohyun had to go down to collect him from the wine bar? Had he vomited everywhere in the apartment upon returning last night?

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the bedroom door. Startled, Baekhyun all but spilt hot tea onto the blanket, yelping as he turned to see what could possibly have been the source of the noise.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Baekhyun, happy birthday to you

Hiphip- hurray! Hiphip-hurray! Hiphip-hurray‼! Wooohooooo!

Soohyun sang loudly as she walked into their bedroom with the small tiramisu she had prepared for last night, decorated with seven candles – two on one side, and five on the other, to signify his new age of 25. Bending down slowly, she brought the cake to Baekhyun’s level as he continued sitting amongst the blankets on the floor, his mouth stretched into a grin so wide that Soohyun couldn’t help but reciprocate. His smile always reminded her of the summer sun: warm, radiant, and contagious. It was as if nothing had occurred last night – his face void of any evidence of the pain that had overcome him just hours ago. The nagging part at the back of Soohyun’s mind worried; worried that Baekhyun had become so deft in the art of hiding his emotions that she would not be able to offer any comfort to him even when he needed her most. But what she did not know was that, in that moment, she had filled his heart with such an overwhelming sense of gratitude and warmth that he had momentarily forgotten his pains, and that he had not even realised he was grinning like an idiot at her until she motioned for him to blow out the candles. So instead of making his birthday wish and blowing out his candles, he moved the cake from her hands onto the floor next to them and closed the distance, melding their lips into one.

[candlelitconversations]

00.

Gerbera

prologue

:: baekhyun x oc ;; genre: angst/fluff ;; espionage!au ::

( masterlist )

 “She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.” 

– JD Salinger, “A Girl I Knew”.

“Park Soohyun,” she introduced, right hand held out.

Nails trimmed neatly, not a flake of polish on her nails, not a gem in sight ornamenting her delicate fingers. Except they weren’t delicate, Baekhyun mused as his hand extended to meet hers. Callouses, trimmed and buffed not doubt, hiding a rougher profession behind the owner of said hand. Park Soohyun – the name was no doubt familiar to him. Although the pair had never formally met, it would be difficult for Baekhyun to not know the seemingly ordinary girl standing in front of him, hair pulled into a messy bun, an oversized hoodie adorning her small frame. It is, after all, difficult to remain in the shadows when one consistently scores perfect 10.0s in target practice since lesson one, even if you happen to be 5’2 and soft-spoken.

“Byun Baekhyun,” he greets back, his signature playful grin lighting his face. Not that this man required much introduction either – the pair of them long being crowned as the most promising new agents of the DK group. In another universe, perhaps the pair would already be crowned prom queen and king – but neither of them would know what that would feel like, for neither have had the fortune of attending prom, nor circumstances that would allow them to grow up as regular teenagers.

As Soohyun reminisces on their first meeting, she cannot help but wonder to herself: perhaps if circumstances were different, and fate had brought them together under kinder times, perhaps, just maybe, they could have become more. More than… co-workers? That seemed to belittle their relationship, when they trusted each other with their lives. Partners? Yet that seemed too intimate, much too intimate, for their relationship. Perhaps that ambiguity was what had landed them in their current positions. Perhaps…

[candlelitconversations]

Gerbera :: 08

:: baekhyun x oc ;; angst/fluff (implied adult themes in this chapter) ;; espionage au :: 

( masterlist :: 01 :: 02 :: 03 :: 04 :: 05 :: 06 :: 07 :: )

Kyungsoo returns on the sixth day to see Baekhyun standing at the door, his hand hovering at the handle. He pauses, a small smile creeping onto his face. At last, he thought, at last these two idiots can man up and just talk it through.

Taking a deep breath in, Baekhyun pushes the door open.

Soohyun is sleeping in bed when Baekhyun walks in, her small figure curled up under the white sheets. Baekhyun walks softly over to her sleeping figure, careful not to rouse her. He sits himself in the chair next to her bed, placing the fresh bouquet of white daisies onto her bedside. Her face has become even slimmer than when he had last seen her, the dark circles lining her eyes evidence of the battles she has had to face in his absence. Or worse, the battles he had created for her. Baekhyun does not realise until Soohyun’s eyelids flutter open that he has reached over to stroke her hair, surprising both her and himself.

“Baekhyun…” she whispers, afraid that if she spoke louder he would vanish from her sight.

“It’s me, Soohyun…” he starts, his voice breaking. “I…I’m so sorry, I…”

Baekhyun doesn’t finish his sentence, as Soohyun leans forward to pull his crying figure into her arms. She hushes his apologies as she buries her face deeper into the crook of his neck. He closes their distance by pulling her torso into his, his arms enveloping her into his embrace. They stay in each other’s arms for a long while, initially crying their hearts out into the other’s shoulders before the sobs eventually died down.

“I was waiting for you,” Soohyun whispers, the arms still wrapped tight around Baekhyun’s back, subconsciously afraid that he would leave her again if she let go. “I…I was so scared…”

“I didn’t know how to face you,” he replies, his voice hoarse and dry. “After what I did… to you…I… I didn’t know if I could ever face you again…if you would ever want to see me again…I just…”

He doesn’t say the words I love you, even though he is bursting at the seams to declare his love for her. Because she deserves more than three syllables muttered into the air. He would prove it to her; let his actions speak for his heart.

***

When Baekhyun first finds out the extent of Soohyun’s arm injuries, he locks himself in the toilet for three hours. It takes all of his willpower to stop himself from punching the mirrors to break his own arms, takes a good thirty minutes of yelling for his heart to settle enough such that he doesn’t smash his head against the sink. He had already witnessed the psychological scars that the ordeal had left on her; having barely left her side since they reunited and spending every night by her side, he had woken to her terrified, sweat-ridden and sobbing beside him. And he vowed to hold her tighter, closer every night, to do anything he could to stop the nightmares. But to find out the irreversible damage that his single decision had caused; Baekhyun was unsure if he would be able to live with himself.

She had tried to hide it from him, joking about how she had become left-handed while waiting for her right to recover, always keeping her right wrist in a cast and arm in a sling. Which had been at most a white lie: Soohyun was learning to use her left hand, attending rehabilitation sessions to train up her right brain. The chances of being able to paint again, to shoot with impeccable aim again… they were all goals that, despite encouragement from her doctors and Kyungsoo, Soohyun knew would not be possible again. She had wanted to hate Baekhyun for it, to blame everything on him; but when she had woken up to find him at her bedside, all that had gone out the window. Because wish as she may, her heart was incapable of hating Byun Baekhyun. It burnt and tore at her chest when he had chosen Hera over her; it all but bore a hole directly through her chest when she had found out the implications of his choice. But yet her heart still yearned for him – his embrace being the only thing that could soothe her racing thoughts, his kiss on her forehead the only thing that could numb the pain.

So she stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for him. When he finally emerges from the bathroom, his head is down, unable to meet Soohyun’s gaze. He tries to walk around, but she blocks his escape route with her body.

“Soohyun, please...”

“Byun Baekhyun, look at me.”

“Soo…”

“Please Baekhyun, please… please look at me,” she pleads, her hands reaching for his as he continued to attempt escaping.

Baekhyun freezes at the contact, his eyes focusing on her right hand on his left. Soohyun notices, moving her hand from his hand to his cheek instead. With her palms on both his cheeks, she desperately turns him to look at her.

“I did this to you, Soohyun…I…” he starts before choking down a sob, turning away as his tears begin to stream down his face again.

“So take responsibility for it then,” she whispers, surprising herself and Baekhyun. “Take responsibility for me, take care of me… I don’t care if this is the only way I can have you by my side, I just can’t lose you again, please Baekhyun…”

He cuts her off, pressing his lips to hers. The kiss is desperate, the pair still crying as their limbs become entwined with the other’s body and face. When Baekhyun breaks the kiss, his hands are on Soohyun’s jaw and the back of her head, his forehead pressed against hers, as his eyes remain shut.

“I don’t deserve you… I lost my chance a long time ago…”

“That’s up to me isn’t it?”

Soohyun brings her lips to Baekhyun’s, cutting him off before he could say another word.

They can’t remember exactly how they managed to not break anything, but they find themselves in the shared bedroom of their temporary accommodation at the headquarters. Shirts and pants discarded, scattered like Hansel and Gretel’s bread trail in the hallway leading from the bathroom. Their breathing is heavy as they continued their kiss, the air humid from their activities. Baekhyun breaks the kiss, leaning back slightly from his position above Soohyun, earning a small whine from her as she tries to pull him back closer to her. He resists, his left hand moving to fix her hair as he continued to lean on his right. Soohyun leans into his hand, her eyes fluttering closed as she savours their warmth. She opens her eyes again to hind his dark orbs gazing into hers, a gentle smile on his face.

“I love you, Park Soohyun,” he whispers, his voice firm and certain as he closes the distance between them again, their breaths becoming one.