#1 (May 2014)

Junmyeon isn’t fully paying attention when he picks up the phone. (If he had been, he thinks later, he probably wouldn’t have picked up in the first place.) Sehun has just finished a long rant about some prank Chanyeol and Baekhyun pulled on him, which is not unusual, really. In fact, Junmyeon is slightly relieved that the uncomfortable tension that has filled the dorm ever since Kr- No, ever since we became eleven, we can’t mention his name, he reminds himself for the thousandth time - has started to dissipate. Junmyeon offers the Sehun some advice after his long-winded complaint ends, and the maknae heaves a massive sigh before moving to leave the room just as Junmyeon’s phone rings.

“Go on, Sehunnie, I’ll be out in a bit,” Junmyeon tells him, not bothering to check the number as he brings the phone to his ear.

Sehun is already out the door when the voice on the other end uncertainly starts, “Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon nearly drops the phone in shock. The voice is way too familiar, brings back too many memories, and Junmyeon can already feel a headache coming on. “Kr- Yifan?” he hisses, rushing over to the door to lock it, because no one should walk in on this. It feels odd, calling him by his real name, but Junmyeon needs to keep this formal and this is the only way he can think of. He tries to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth as he speaks.

“That’s me,” Kris answers awkwardly. It makes Junmyeon cringe, because this is Kris, the person who was by his side for years, speaking like they’re complete strangers.

“Why do you still have this number?” Junmyeon demands, anger building inside him. “You were supposed to delete all of them.” Leave no traces, they had been told. Pictures had to be deleted from their phones, numbers had to be erased, anything and everything that could hint at the existence of a 12th member, gone in the course of a day.

Kris is quiet for a moment, and part of Junmyeon desperately wants to explode at him. “You’re crazy if you think I don’t know your number by heart,” Kris finally says. Junmyeon pointedly ignores the way that simple admittance makes his heart rate speed up. “I could take the pictures off my phone, unfollow you all on social media, but I can’t get rid of my own memories.”

“And what makes you think you can just call me whenever you please?” Junmyeon asks, determined to remain angry even as he feels his resolve crumbling. “What if another member had been in the room? What if a manager had been in the room?”

“You picked up,” Kris points out.

“I - that’s -” Junmyeon splutters a little. “I wasn’t looking at the number when I picked up, okay? I was trying to handle a crisis.”

“Let me guess, the beagle line was winding up one of the maknaes,” Kris predicts. Junmyeon can hear him rolling his eyes through the phone. “Typical.”

Junmyeon’s heart aches. Kris sounds fond, enough that Junmyeon can almost forget that Kris isn’t one of them anymore. Almost. “Why did you call, Yifan?”

There’s another pregnant pause. Then - “I miss you.” Kris says it so matter-of-factly, like Junmyeon should have expected it, like it isn’t a big deal, like it doesn’t hurt him to say it as much as it hurts Junmyeon to hear it. “I miss all of you.”

And the thing is - Junmyeon wants to be angry, enraged, furious. He wants to yell and scream and tell Kris that it’s his own fault, that if he really missed them so much, he wouldn’t have left in the first place. But he won’t do it, because he knows Kris’s reasons and he knows it wasn’t easy for Kris to do and most importantly, he knows Kris still feels, will always feel, guilty for what his departure did to the members. So instead of shouting, instead of picking a pointless fight, Junmyeon quietly replies, “Everyone misses you too.”

Kris lets out a shaky breath. “I read your public statement. And Tao’s. Doesn’t feel like you miss me that much.”

Junmyeon grimaces. “You know how emotional Tao can get, he’s already said that he regrets getting so angry in the heat of the moment. And anyway, you know we had to say those things. It wasn’t SM’s fault, after all.” He says the words with practiced ease, as if repeating them over and over has made them any less false.

“I know,” Kris sighs. “I know, but I also think there’s a part of you that believes everything they’ve made you say.”

“I don’t,” Junmyeon replies automatically. “Am I upset? Yes, obviously. Am I disappointed? Also yes. But I know your reasons, and I know that they’re good and valid reasons.”

“Okay,” Kris says, but he still doesn’t sound entirely convinced. There’s a tiny, twisted, sadistic part of Junmyeon that’s almost glad that Kris is having these doubts, as a sick kind of confirmation that Kris does in fact feel guilty. But mostly, Junmyeon is sad, sad that Kris can’t trust him at his word anymore, sad that he’s so entangled in SM that it’s difficult to differentiate his own thoughts from theirs.

“I have to go, Yifan,” Junmyeon tells him softly. “The others are probably already wondering why I’ve been in here for so long.”

“Go on then, go take care of them,” Kris replies. Junmyeon mumbles a good bye, but before he can hang up, Kris speaks again. “Junmyeon, I know I made it harder, now that you have ten to take care of by yourself, but - just remember to take care of yourself too.”

Junmyeon closes his eyes, willing back his tears. “You too, Yifan.” He hangs up.

~~~

#2 (October 2014)

Junmyeon excuses himself from the living room as his phone rings, the ringtone cutting through the tense silence that has been omnipresent in the dorm since eleven became ten. No one heeds him much attention anyway, too caught up in other things to notice him walking to his room. Sehun has his head on Jongin’s shoulder as they sit on the couch, silently watching something on Jongin’s phone. Chanyeol and Baekhyun are much more subdued than usual, sitting on either side of Kyungsoo and reading the book he’s engrossed in from over his shoulder.

Minseok, as expected, is the most affected, his eyes rimmed in red as he stares blankly at nothing, even though it’s been more than a week since the departure. Jongdae is at his side, speaking quietly and soothingly in an attempt to comfort his hyung while visibly trying to hold back his own tears. Yixing sits next to Jongdae, occasionally interjecting a few words, while Tao sits on Minseok’s other side, distracting himself with a game on his phone.

“I heard,” is the first thing that comes through the phone as he closes his bedroom door behind him and locks it. “I’m so sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” Junmyeon asks hollowly. “It had nothing to do with you.”

“I know you don’t believe me, Junmyeon, but I do still care about the group,” Kris sighs. “How’s Minseok-hyung holding up?”

“He’s - recovering,” Junmyeon replies hesitantly. “He’s hung up on the fact that Luhan-hyung didn’t delete that picture of the two of them off his Instagram account.”

“There’s a picture of you on there too though, isn’t there?” Kris asks, not completely sure why it would be such a big deal for Minseok.

Junmyeon sighs deeply. “Yeah, but that was just a picture for my birthday. The one he posted of the two of them, it had no caption or anything, remember?” Kris murmurs in agreement. “That’s because it was actually for their one year anniversary.”

Kris inhales sharply, realization dawning upon him. “Oh boy. Have they talked at all since he left?”

“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time, really,” Junmyeon says resignedly. “Luhan-hyung will eventually call and Minseok-hyung will yell at him and they’ll both cry a little and in the end, they’ll decide that they still want to be together, because that’s just how they are.”

“So basically, they’ll do exactly what we did, except in a more boyfriendy way,” Kris summarizes. “Well, you know what they say about kids copying their parents.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Sure, Yifan. I definitely know what you’re talking about.” Kris laughs and Junmyeon ignores the way his heart flutters at the familiar sound. I’m a grown man, not some teenager with a crush, he reminds himself firmly. “Anyway, the point is, Minseok-hyung is still distraught right now, but he’ll be okay.”

“I’m glad,” Kris says approvingly. “Not that I thought he wouldn’t be able to handle it, but I was worried about him.”

“I’m more worried about Luhan-hyung, to be honest,” Junmyeon replies thoughtfully. “He’s the one who left, but I really think the guilt might kill him.”

Kris is quiet for a moment before admitting, “I actually talked to him yesterday.”

“What? How is he? Is he eating properly? Resting?” Junmyeon can’t help the way he immediately shifts into protective mode. Luhan may have left, but Junmyeon will always worry.

“Well, I did have to remind him that he needs to eat three meals per day and drink something besides coffee,” Kris sighs. “But to be fair, his response was to tell me to stop being such a dad, so I mean, other than that, he’s practically his same old self.”

Junmyeon groans. “Don’t tell me he’s only drinking coffee because -”

“It reminds him of Minseok-hyung,” Kris finishes. “Yup.”

“Next time you talk to him, yell at him from me too,” Junmyeon requests, shaking his head. “Living off coffee, honestly. I understand he misses his boyfriend, but really.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know your thoughts on the matter,” Kris obliges, amusement evident in his voice. “He’s more likely to listen to you anyway.”

Junmyeon smiles in spite of himself. “If you say so.” It suddenly strikes him how normal this conversation is, how easy and familiar it is to exchange playful words back and forth, and suddenly, he can’t handle it. In an instant, the overwhelming longing he feels, for Kris to return, for Luhan to return, for everything to be the way it was, is too much to take. He panics. “I - I have to go. Talk to you later.”

“Oh, uh, okay, bye,” a very bewildered Kris replies hurriedly before Junmyeon hangs up. It’s only later that Junmyeon realizes that he practically invited Kris to call again.

~~~

#3 (March 2015)

The members are in a very excitable state when Junmyeon’s phone rings. Junmyeon glances at the number and groans internally. This is a call he needs to be alone for, but he isn’t sure how he’ll be able to isolate himself from s when they’re all so worked up.

He answers the call and hurriedly says, “Can you just hang on for a second? Everything is kind of a mess right now.” The amused laughter he receives in response does nothing to improve his hassled mood. “Minseok-hyung!” he calls a little desperately.

“What’s wrong?” Minseok immediately appears at his side, much to Junmyeon’s relief.

“Can you please look after everyone for a while?” Junmyeon requests. “I have to take this call.”

Minseok raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question him, which Junmyeon is grateful for. “Sure, Junmyeon-ah. Go talk to him - I mean, whoever it is you need to talk to.” Junmyeon gets the feeling Minseok somehow knows exactly who called him (Luhan-hyung must have told him, Junmyeon thinks), but he doesn’t dwell on it too long.

“Thanks, Minseok-hyung. You’re the best!” At first, as he leaves the living room, all he can see is Kyungsoo and Jongdae laughing about something as Yixing dozes on Jongdae’s shoulder and thinks Minseok might not have that difficult of a job after all. Of course, then he spots Sehun and Chanyeol engaged in an arm wrestling match while Jongin, Baekhyun, and Tao play the part of the enthusiastic, rambunctious crowd, changes his mind, and silently wishes Minseok good luck.

“Sorry about that,” Junmyeon apologizes once the door to his room is locked and he’s settled on the bed comfortably. “I had to make sure they were being supervised by someone responsible.”

“It’s fine,” Kris laughs. “Believe me, I totally get it. I still remember what it was like, especially after a comeback.” There’s an awkward pause after that, because Junmyeon isn’t sure what he can say in response to something like that. Kris coughs to break the silence. “Out of curiosity though, don’t you think Minseok-hyung might get roped into whatever competition was going on out there?”

“He might,” Junmyeon realizes belatedly. “But then again, he doesn’t really like arm wrestling that much because everyone else is way worse than him. And if it really comes to that, I’m pretty sure Jongdae and Kyungsoo will step in.” He plays with the edge of his blanket as he continues, “So anyway, I don’t think you called just to hear about who keeps the members in line when I’m not there.”

“I just wanted to congratulate everyone. Our - I mean, your comeback was impressive,” Kris compliments. “I liked the song a lot.”

“I - you listened to it?” Junmyeon asks, feeling a little surprised.

“Obviously,” Kris replies like there was no doubt that he would. “I watched the video too, of course. I liked your center-screen hip .” Junmyeon can hear him smiling.

“That wasn’t my idea,” Junmyeon mumbles, blushing slightly.

“Well, I figured as much,” Kris says, mirth evident in his voice. “But I mean, I don’t know, you looked good doing it so I - just thought I’d tell you.”

“Thanks, Yifan,” Junmyeon tells him, his face still warm. “I’m glad you watched it.”

“How could I not?” Kris counters. “I’m really proud of all of you, you know. I know it wasn’t easy for any of you, and I certainly didn’t help with that, but - I’m happy EXO is out there being successful.”

Junmyeon is suddenly overcome with the urge to tell Kris everything. He wants to admit that he had been so afraid that they wouldn’t be able to get over losing two members that it kept him awake at night, wants to reveal that even though they’re all beyond proud of the new album, it still feels like there’s something missing. But he knows he shouldn’t, knows there are some things he needs to keep to himself, so he settles for replying, “Me too. And I’m glad you’re not doing bad yourself either.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping tabs on me too,” Kris blurts out. “I’m flattered, it almost feels like you care, Junmyeon-ah!”

“Shut up,” Junmyeon grumbles. “Obviously I keep an eye on what you’re up to. And for your information, I do the same for Luhan-hyung.”

“Sure, Junmyeon, try and make me feel less special,” Kris teases. “Still, I bet Luhan doesn’t get to talk to you as often as I do, am I right?”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face as he admits, “Fine, you’re right about that. He does talk to Minseok-hyung though, so I’m sure he’s not too disappointed.”

“He should be, since I’m pretty sure I’m the real winner here,” Kris declares. He sounds undeniably genuine, and it makes Junmyeon’s heart race. “Anyway, I’m sure you have a very rowdy group of members to return to, so I’ll let you go.”

“Thank you again, Yifan,” Junmyeon tells him sincerely. “It was nice to hear your opinion.”

Kris just laughs softly. “Any time, Junmyeon. And remember to enjoy the success, okay? You deserve it.”

~~~

#4 (April 2015)

“Junmyeon? Are you there?” Kris’s voice is laced with concern. It grates at Junmyeon’s nerves.

“Yifan?” he answers mockingly, alcohol thrumming through his veins and clouding his brain. This is already the most irresponsible thing he’s ever done, taking a couple bottles from the hidden stash of alcohol all the members pretend isn’t there, but he’s really outdone himself this time because he’s actually drinking them. “I’m here. Where are you? Certainly not here.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other end. “Junmyeon, are you - are you drunk?”

“What if I am?” Junmyeon retorts. “What’s it to you? You gonna tell me what a bad leader I am? I already hear enough of that: I lost three members over the course of a year, after all. But you were one of those members, so it’s not like you were ever a more responsible leader than me.”

“I - Junmyeon, are you alone right now?” Kris sounds even more worried than before.

“I’m always alone,” Junmyeon laughs mirthlessly. “I’ve been alone, ever since my co-leader dropped EXO out of his life, ever since he dropped me out of his life with it. Can you believe I was in love with him? Can you believe after all this time, I still am?”

Kris is silent for a long time. “You don’t mean that,” he says quietly. “You’re drunk and you don’t know what you’re saying.” He sounds very much like he’s trying to convince himself.

“Shut up, Yifan,” Junmyeon snaps. “How would you know? You left. I never even got to tell you anything about how I felt. And how could you possibly be so - so full of yourself as to think you know how I feel now?”

“I’m dreaming,” Kris murmurs. “This isn’t real.”

“Wake up! This is reality,” Junmyeon sneers. His inhibitions are nonexistent, words that have been trapped in his head for the whole year since Kris left now flowing freely from his mouth. “After Luhan-hyung left, I was the only one who could really understand what Minseok-hyung was going through. I had experienced that same pain, after all. The heartbreak that comes with the person you love leaving you behind.”

“Don’t,”  Kris implores softly. “Please, don’t.”

“You know Jongdae has nightmares, Yifan?” Junmyeon continues relentlessly. “He wakes up crying every night because he’s afraid Yixing will leave one day too. Because if Minseok wasn’t enough for Luhan to stay, if I wasn’t enough for you to stay, then how could he possibly be enough?”

“You were enough,” Kris mumbles. “Don’t ever think you weren’t.”

“And yet you still left,” Junmyeon replies bitterly. “Congratulations, Yifan, you’re officially deplorable at showing people how much they’re worth to you.”

“Junmyeon, I -”

“And now Tao is gone,” Junmyeon whispers suddenly. His voice breaks as he continues to speak. “My baby Zitao is gone!” He’s been trying so hard to hold the tears back, but he can’t help the miserable sob that escapes his mouth. “Weren’t we a happy family, Yifan? What did I do wrong for both the father and the son to leave?”

“It wasn’t because of you, Junmyeon,” Kris murmurs sadly. “If there was no SM controlling our every move, we all would have stayed. Tao wouldn’t have left all his friends or you, and Lu-ge would have stayed for Minseok-hyung, and -” He swallows before continuing softly, “And I would have stayed for you.”

“I miss you,” Junmyeon says quietly, his eyes starting to feel heavy from his sudden emotional outburst. “I miss you so much and I wish you would all just come back.”

The last thing he hears before falling asleep is Kris’s equally quiet reply: “Sometimes I wish I could, too.”

(In the morning, Junmyeon wakes up with a throbbing headache and a sinking feeling in his gut. He immediately makes a beeline for Minseok’s room, barging in and effectively waking up a very confused Minseok. “Junmyeon? What’s wrong?” Minseok asks, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

“I - there’s nothing wrong, really, I just - I’m sorry for waking you up like this,” Junmyeon rambles anxiously.

“Whoa, slow down there.” Minseok pats the area next to him on the bed. “Come on, just take your time and gather your thoughts.”

Junmyeon sits, offering Minseok a grateful smile before rubbing at his temples in frustration. “Can I ask you kind of a weird question, hyung?” Minseok looks at him curiously but nods, indicating that he should continue. “How did you - I mean, was it hard to, um, forgive Luhan-hyung?” He mumbles the last part, but he knows Minseok heard him.

Minseok’s eyes widen in realization. “Junmyeon-ah, is this about Kris?” Junmyeon says nothing, which essentially confirms Minseok’s suspicions. “I thought I would never be able to forgive him at first. I thought it was so selfish of him, even though I knew he was having panic attacks and wasn’t sleeping well and wasn’t happy. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it wasn’t that he wanted to leave: he needed to leave. And that made it easier. He was really in distress, he knew that and I knew that, and in the end, I decided that I would rather him be apart from me and healthy than be with me and suffer.”

“You’re still...together, right?” Junmyeon asks tentatively.

Minseok smiles softly. “Yeah, we are. He called me a few weeks after he left and we just...talked. And we established that we both wanted this, wanted to make it work, and that’s what we’ve been doing.” He looks at Junmyeon carefully. “What’s brought all this on?”

“I, um, kind of got drunk last night?” Junmyeon admits guiltily. Minseok, to his credit, gives no indication of any kind of judgement. “And he called me and I accidentally told him I’ve been in love with him since before he left,” Junmyeon groans, his voice slightly muffled by his hands.

“Junmyeon-ah,” Minseok sighs sympathetically. “It’ll be fine. He’s been crazy about you for just as long, honestly. Just call him and explain yourself fully, he’ll definitely understand.”

Junmyeon smiles wryly. “I don’t need to call him, hyung. He’ll call me.”)

~~~

#5 (May 2015)

The group is gathered together in the living room when Junmyeon’s phone lights up with a ringtone that isn’t his usual one. “Hyung, is that yours?” Jongin asks curiously from where he’s tucked into Sehun’s side on the floor. “That isn’t your normal ringtone.”

“It must be someone special!” Baekhyun predicts as he leans over Chanyeol on the couch to grin slyly at Junmyeon. “You only set different ringtones for those significant people in your life, if you know what I mean.”

“Is that why you have Chanyeol’s ringtone set as ‘Call Me Baby,’ Baekhyun?” Jongdae interjects, smirking as he looks up from where he’s in the middle of a long-winded text to Yixing, who’s currently in China.

Baekhyun flushes pink. “Shut up, Jongdae, I know your ringtone for Yixing-hyung is ‘Love, Love, Love,’ that’s way worse.”

“It’s not way worse, it makes sense,” Chanyeol defends Jongdae, much to Baekhyun’s indignance. “You know what’s actually worse? The fact that Sehun and Jongin’s ringtone for each other is ‘Playboy.’ They’re too young for that level of gross.”

“Come on, Minseok-hyung is just as gross, ‘Baby’ is his ringtone for Luhan-hyung,” Sehun complains. Minseok just shrugs and nods with a shy smile, unashamed to admit to the truth.

“Yeah, but at least they’re not five years old like you and Jongin,” Kyungsoo reasons, seated in the solitary armchair in the room.

Sehun and Jongin both look affronted. “You’re only a year older than us!”

As the members continue to squabble amongst each other, Junmyeon quietly slips away and locks himself in his room. He’s known who the caller is since the distinct ringtone started blaring from his phone; he knows he needs to be alone for this call. “What do you want?” Junmyeon says tiredly into the phone once he’s seated on his bed.

“It’s your birthday,” Kris explains like that clears everything up. “Did you really think I wouldn’t call?”

“I don’t know what to think about you, Yifan,” Junmyeon informs him bluntly. “What’s the real reason you call me all the time?”

“I’ve told you,” Kris explains, sounding a little frustrated. “Just because I left doesn’t mean I don’t care about you - and everyone else - anymore. I like to hear how you’re doing, and I like to hear it from the source itself. That way I know it’s real.”

“Okay, but -”

“No, Junmyeon,” Kris interrupts firmly. “That is the reason why I call you. After Lu-ge left, after your comeback, after Tao left, those were the times I knew you would need support the most, so I called then. But I’m sure you’ve noticed that I try to call at least once every two weeks, and that’s because I care, because I genuinely want to know how you are.” He hesitates before continuing, “Even when you were drunk, I still stayed on because I wanted to make sure you were okay. You said a lot of things that made me a little - well anyway, I don’t even know if you remember it or not…”

“I remember everything I said that night,” Junmyeon tells him. “You don’t have to beat around the bush.”

“Oh,” Kris says dumbly. “Well, then.”

“I meant every word,” Junmyeon continues airily. “But it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters a little,” Kris counters defensively. “You didn’t let me say anything about my feelings about the situation.”

“I was drunk, okay?” Junmyeon replies. “The situation shouldn’t ever have existed in the first place.”

“So you’re just going to ignore the fact that you told me you’re in love with me?” Kris demands. “You’re just going to ignore that I’m in love with you too?”

Junmyeon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, because there’s no way he heard those words come out of Kris’s mouth. “Yifan -”

“Junmyeon,” Kris cuts him off. “You yelled at me for doubting your words, don’t make me do the same. It’s true, okay? It’s one of the reasons why it’s important to me that I check in on you once in a while.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Junmyeon says honestly.

“Don’t say anything, then,” Kris suggests. “I’ll leave you to get your thoughts together now. But just remember, your feelings are, always have been, returned. So stop feeling like I’m messing with you, because I am one hundred percent sincere." He pauses for a moment. The silence makes Junmyeon think for a moment that Kris might have already hung up, but then Kris speaks up again. "And Junmyeon, happy birthday.”

(When he opens his door to return to the living room after hanging up, Junmyeon is greeted by seven overexcited members, all with varying degrees of suggestive smiles on their faces. “What do you all want?” he groans even as he steps aside to let them all in.

“So,” Sehun starts, waggling his eyebrows as he drops himself unceremoniously on Junmyeon’s bed. “How is he?”

“How often does he call you, anyway?” Chanyeol adds inquisitively, perching himself next to Sehun. “He never calls me.”

“Obviously he only calls Junmyeon-hyung, otherwise it would be too suspicious,” Baekhyun points out, sitting on the floor and leaning against Sehun and Chanyeol’s legs. “Besides, confessions of love work best when other people aren’t involved.”

“And I’m sure you know from experience, right?” Jongdae teases from his spot on the windowsill. “Maybe Chanyeol can tell us all about that.”

Baekhyun glares at him. “Just you wait, I’ll call Yixing-hyung right now, then we’ll see who’s laughing -”

“That’s not important right now,” Sehun interrupts. “I want to know how he confessed. Did he tell you that you’re his style, Junmyeon-hyung?” Everyone bursts into laughter at that.

“Okay, first of all,” Junmyeon interjects loudly. “I don’t know who you think called, but I’m sure you’re all confused -”

They all look at him pointedly. “Hyung,” Kyungsoo says slowly. “The ringtone was ‘Hurt.’ There’s literally no one else in the world you would be so overdramatic about besides Kris-hyung.”)

~~~

+1 (February 2016)

Junmyeon hesitates as he dials the number he’s not supposed to know anymore, but has had memorized for years anyway. He can think of a million reasons why this is a bad idea, why he should just put down his phone and give up on this call before ever making it. What if he doesn’t pick up? Junmyeon wonders. Or worse, what if he does?

He doesn’t have much time to ponder on it, though, because the phone rings only once before the person on the other end picks up. “Junmyeon?” Kris asks incredulously. Junmyeon remains silent for a moment, his throat dry. “Junmyeon? You there?”

Junmyeon is jolted back into reality and hastily replies, “Yes, yeah. It’s me. I’m here.”

“You called me,” Kris observes, trying to seem nonchalant but instead sounding a little awed. “You called me. Not the other way around.”

“I - yes, that’s true,” Junmyeon confirms. “I did.” He furiously asks himself why he decided to go through with this.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Kris prompts after an extended period of silence.

“Um,” Junmyeon starts awkwardly. “Well.”

“Yes,” Kris says slowly, trying to get Junmyeon to continue.

“We’re - EXO, I mean - we’re in Canada,” Junmyeon tells him.

“You are,” Kris replies.“I read the news.”

Junmyeon knows Kris too well to not be aware that Kris knows exactly what he’s trying to say, that he’s just messing with him right now. That fact doesn’t irritate him as much as he thinks it probably should. “You are also in Canada.”

“I am,” Kris agrees. Junmyeon can hear the smug smile on the other man’s face.

“Seriously, Yifan?” Junmyeon huffs frustratedly. “I know you know what I’m saying.”

“You’re saying that you’re in Canada and I’m in Canada,” Kris summarizes, clearly holding back a laugh. “Canada is a big place, lots of people everywhere. What’s your point?”

Junmyeon sighs, knowing Kris isn’t going to acknowledge his meaning until he spells it out explicitly. “We all have one day to do whatever we want.”

“That’s a new perk,” Kris comments. “I definitely never got one of those.” Junmyeon remains silent and Kris continues, “So. What are your plans for the day?”

“I don’t know, Kris,” Junmyeon retorts. “You’re the expert on Canadian culture, recommend something for me.”

Kris is quiet for a moment. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve called me Kris since - since I left?” he says softly. Junmyeon says nothing, his face heating up against his will. “Anyway.” Kris clears his throat and the moment is broken. “There’s a very nice little restaurant that does some pretty authentic Korean food in the heart of Toronto. Rumor has it that the food is so good that former K-pop star Kris Wu frequently goes there, usually around noon.”

A slow smile spreads across Junmyeon’s face. This is what he’s been waiting for, this is the reason he called in the first place. “What a coincidence, then, because current K-pop star, EXO’s Suho, was thinking of going there, also around noon, on his day off.”

Junmyeon can hear the grin in Kris’s voice, can see the sparkle in his eye, as he replies contentedly. “Okay then, Junmyeonnie. It’s a date.”