White hot pain, that's all he has come to know. Baekhyun is not a stranger to a bad feeling in his gut. And he is certainly not a stranger to that feeling coming true.

 

But today he felt like his gut was spilling open. Like someone had cut him up and left him to gasp for breath and fight for his life. And that's what he was doing most of the days, he was trying to stay afloat. He tried to survive. 

 

Not for his own sake but for his angel, for his little sister.

 

That's what he had told himself before he went to sleep last night and that was the first thing he tried to remind himself of, when he jolted awake from a nightmare each morning. 

 

Nightmare of events he hadn't 3ven witnessed but his mind still somehow managed to produce a whole movie length dream out of it.

 

Baekhyun sat up in bed and rubbed his face, trying to wash away the images that still lingered before his eyes. He opened his eyes again and took in the forign room he had been staying in. He slipped out of bed and attempted three times before he put his slippers on the right way.

 

He was like this these days, unable to perform even the simplest of tasks.

He splashed water on his face, savoring the cold touch of the liquid that teathered him to the world. He stared at this face in the mirror, at his eyes that had purple dark circles under them, and his cheeks that had hollowed out to the extent that he couldn't recognise himself. 

 

Out of all the changes he could see disfiguring him, the lack of light in his eyes was the most prominent one to notice. He used to have bright smiley eyes that lit up when he laughed or smiled but now, now they were just black. Bottomless pits of endless darkness that threatened to swallow him whole in one big swoop. Darkness that he carried on his shoulders everyday. 

 

It was like he was trying to support the whole world of bleak thoughts on his back. If he didn't try to tell himself to get out of bed each day, he'd stay there until he died and tirned to dust. So he had to get up each day to get the justice that would allow his soul and his sister's soul rest in peace.

 

Baekhyun was a strong man he was hardly unnerved by anything, but the loss of the loved ones as he had experienced before much too many times was the one thing that left him so shattered that this time he did not think he could pick up the pieces. The pieces simply seemed too much, too small to to pick up. Picking them up seemed redundant. Who would he pick them up for? Himself? That was all he had left after all. He was all alone. Just him in this world full of people. 

 

If that's what he was picking the pieces up for them maybe he should take a hammer and crush them more. He did not want to live like this.

 

This time it wasn’t just his heart that shattered. This was the last piece of him, of his family and losing it just broke him completely. It had taken all the fight out of him and seemed like his ability to react with it. From outside looking in, except the gaunt face and body he now supported there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him to the people who hadn’t known Baekhyun before this ordeal.

 

He had spent four days crying and hurting. He had prayed and begged to any gods that would listen. He had done all he could, spent all the resources, all his time and mental capacity for days on end. And for what?

 

"I'm sorry Mr. Byun. This was all that was found." With his world burning in white hot flames of pain, Baekhyun had accepted the small torn up part of Baekhee's scarf. It felt rough against his fingers and it didn't take him long at all to process that it was dried blood. 

 

"Judging from the scene, its not looking up. I think you should be prepared for any bad news."

 

His tears had evaporated in that fire and all he had now was an empty mind full of nothing but denial and shock.

 

He dragged his legs, or his legs dragged him, he didn't care, nor did he want to. He was so detached from the world, he even planned on going to work today. More because he wanted to keep this job so that he could spend all his assets on the situation surrounding his Baekhee.

 

There were a few things that he gathered from the four days since the report he had made. One, that this ordeal was going to be long. Two, the police weren't going to be able to solve it. They hadn’t even found his sister yet. Three, the time they found something it was going to be too late and Baekhyun would have failed his little bud.

 

Yes, despite the warning given to him he was still hopeful. What else could he do right now but feel hopeful. He couldn’t convince himself to think the worst, he could not allow him to do that. Not until Baekhyun saw the proof of his darkest fears. He wasn't going to shed a tear. That would mean that he had accepted that...

 

That...

 

That what...

 

Nothing...

 

Baekhee was coming home. And that was all he needed to focus on.

 

The fact that the police were keeping some of the details from him, it killed him to the core. He just wanted to find his sister and go back to Korea and then never think of this horrid place again. This place where he had lost his brother and his parents.

 

 

 

“You’re up.” Baekhyun looked up to see Sehun at bathroom door. He hadn't even relaised that amidst his train of thoughts, he had stopped moving and had been standing stationary for who knows how long.

 

Sehun seemed surprised to say the least.

 

"I thought I'd head to work." Baekhyun said turning around to get the towel so he could dry himself off. 

 

Sehun let out a sigh. "You should take a few more days off Hyung. You cannot work like this."

 

"I need this job Sehun." The tone was final and curt. 

 

"Since you work for me I'm not allowing you to set foot in the office until I say so." Said a new voice, Sehun's head turned to welcome the help of his older brother Junmyeon.

 

Baekhyun glared at the newcomer with utter loathing, but he swallowed and held back any words that came to his mind. 

 

Sehun had imagined a ton of reactions from his friend, hell he’d even gone and run a load of possible reactions in his head that he expected from Baekhyun, but never the utter lack of it. It was also very concerning to him that Baekhyun seemed to have become soundless, totally undetectable, quiet and almost invisible. 

 

Even now Baekhyun walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch in the living room in front of the TV, his steps had barelymade a sound. He had picked up the newspaper and started reading through it, all his movements were so subtle that it scared Sehun. Baekhyun moved like the shadows, not like the vibrant light like man he once knew.

 

He was afraid for the sanity of his friend. The smell of burning called for his attention and he ran to the kitchen. He had been cooking breakfast before he went to check up on Baekhyun upon Junmyeon's request. He carefully placed the fried egg, slightly burnt on the plate and added two pieces of bread from the toaster. The breakfast was ready but he wasn’t sure if Baekhyun would eat it or not. It had been a piece of work to get Baekhyun to eat, drink or sleep for the past 4 days. Only Junmyeon was able to coax him into it and even then Baekhyun couldn’t stomach more than a couple bites. He kept throwing up if he ate even a bite more than that. Each time Sehun could practically see the gears turning in Baekhyun’s head.

 

He worked for Junmyeon too, his older brother ran a software house. He was junior to Baekhyun. In his two years he had always seen Baekhyun make a call to Baekhee right before lunch and ask her if she'd eaten, and on the days that she hadn't he had seen Baekhyun worrying and not eating. He could imagine that with each bite now, he kept thinking the same thing.

 

He was eating, but had she?

 

He could drink, but could she?

 

He was breathing ... was she?

 

Sehun had even tried to pinch Baekhyun to make him cry, it hqd earned him a punch to the arm and a long lecture from Junmyeon, but it was like he could stab Baekhyun and no one would even know.

 

“Eat up Hyung. You need it.” Sehun placed the plate in front of Baekhyun, left only to return a while later with a glass of water and a glass of juice. Whichever Baekhyun would like, these days Baekhyun would stay quiet and not talk, go hungry and thirsty for as long as no one would remind him, even if he passed out from exhaustion, he believed that Baekhyun wouldn't register what happened and why to him.

 

But that was not something that Sehun or Junmyeon were going to allow, ever. The first day when Baekhyun had shown some reaction, panic, when he had called them telling them Baekhee was missing, they had went to Baekhyun’s house to support him and then when they had gotten the news a few hours later regarding Baekhee, Sehun had watched carefully and he had seen the horrid sight when Baekhyun’s eyes darknened and he became a walking corpse.

 

Baekhyun picked up a piece of bread and started munching on it dry. Sehun pushed the plate with eggs in front of him. “Take eggs too.” He reminded and the other male obliged.

Baekhyun starred in space, these days it was so hard for Sehun to tell what was going on in the older’s mind. He used to envy the other male for his expressive eyes and expressions. Baekhyun could never for the life of him conceal what he was feeling. And now Sehun was afraid Baekhyun had finally lost that charm, or even worse, Baekhyun wasn’t feeling anything at all that could show. 

 

Sehun had felt pain before and he had known what bottled up feelings could do to a person’s mind.

 

He realised however that Baekhyun was not staring into the distance. He was looking at the phone. He wanted it to ring. He needed updates. He was having his own starring match with the phone and he didn’t even notice Junmyeon coming near him until he was startled by a gentle hand landing on his shoulder.

 

 

 

Baekhyun picked up the newspaper again after he had finished his two bites and a sip of water to force it down. He clenched his teeth, keeping himself from gritting his teeth. He felt extremely nauseous. But he knew he had to keep eating even if just a little. He had to keep eating enough to keep him going. He had to do so for his sister. For her return. 

 

"Did he eat anything?" He heard from Junmyeon but pretended that he hadn’t heard anything. Then he was suddenly too busy in his thoughts perhaps, was he? Because he missed sehun’s response and heard Junmyeon whisper a small, uncertain “Okay”.

Maybe Sehun hadn’t talked and simply gestured? Why did he even care? 

 

Baekhyun was becoming more and more detached with his own mind. He shook his head and focused himself again. How could he just block out entire moments like this? Like he was doing now. His mind told him that he should be paying attention to Junmyeon and Sehun’s conversation, it was about him. How rude of them to discuss him like he wasn't even there. But to be fair he wasn't there was he?

He was somewhere, where he could only think of one person. He only wanted to hear things about Baekhee.

 

Since she wasn’t the topic of Sehun and Junmyeon's conversation, he had no interest. 

 

It was around 10 minutes later that his attention was grabbed by the worried hushed tones in the room, a new voice now having joined. Baekhyun kept looking at the newspaper to not startle his friends, otherwise they will move this conversation further away where he won't be able to eavesdrop. They had gotten careless in the past few days since he wasn't paying attention anyways, they had some serious conversations right there in front of him.

 

But right now he was paying attention. With his mind present and his upside down newspaper he was paying attention.

 

“Yes but why? Why do they need him?” Someone was saying, Baekhyun knew that voice. Oh, that was Luhan's voice, silly him.

 

“I don’t know how to tell him.” Okay he felt like he had missed a part of the conversation again. What the hell was wrong with him? 

 

“Just tell him.” This time Baekhyun was paying attention and he saw from the corner of his eyes as Sehun gave Junmyeon a little push towards his direction as he said those words. Junmyeon gave sehun his signqture confused look before gqthering himself. 

 

Baekhyun neatly folded the newspaper and realised that he had not corrected the way he was holding it. Maybe that was why he still didn’t understand the gibberish written on it. Yeah that must be it.

 

“Baekhyunie?” He jumped even while he was expecting to he addressed. What was wrong with him.

 

 

Junmyeon was concerned and that flinch only increased his worry more and he exchanged a small look with Sehun.

 

“Oh I know what you want to tell me.” Baekhyun said out of the blue, Junmyeon didn’t know what to think about that. It would be a great help if Baekhyun knew what Junmyeon wanted to say. But he had a feeling they were on two entire different pages.

 

“Y-you do?” Junmyeon utter unconvinced.

 

“Of course,” Something about that calm collected and fake cheerful tone sent chills through Junmyeon. “I was reading the newspaper upside down.”

 

Junmyeon had to bite his lip to not make a noise. This was so bad. He considered Baekhyun to be like Sehun, his brother and a person that he felt very protective of. He had tried his best to be there for Baekhyun in the past week as much as he could offer he had offered. Yet, he could not bring the other in terms with what was happening around him. He had to make sure that Baekhyun copped with the situation the right way and he would put him into therapy if he had to, just to make sure that Baekhyun didn't lose his mind.

 

 

This being the driving force, Junmyeon blurted out what he had no idea ho to say.

 

“They need you down at the station.”

 

“Why?” Okay, that was not what Baekhyun expected. That was not at all that was in his mind. He had already gone there about 10 times in the past 4 days and that was not including all the times someone from the station had shown up to ask something or the other.

 

Junmyeon saw Baekhyun’s face change a little in days. Finally he reacting to something. 

 

“They have some questions.” Junmyeon answered. He and Sehun had already been questioned thoroughly and cleared. At least he hoped they were. He couldn’t help but still feel stung by that. It was silly of him, he knew that but how could he hurt that small little girl that was like his own little sister. 

 

At the same time he understood the why it had to be done. The Police needed to eliminate the most prominent suspects to move forward.

 

Junmyeon was expecting something more from Baekhyun, he didn’t know why he still kept hoping for Baekhyun to cry and not bottle everything up.

 

Baekhyun stood up, Junmyeon’s eyes followed his every move, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Infact, it was too ordinary. Baekhyun simply took his coat and put it on. 

 

“Let’s go.” 

 

This was so normal that it was highly abnormal.

 

The only other sign that Junmyeon got from Baekhyun was the deep breath he took before getting in the car. And he promised himself if this went on for even a little bit longer he would send Baekhyun to Minsoek for some help.

 

 

°~°

 

 

“Please follow me.” Said the lead detective on the Baekhee case, Do Kyungsoo. His voice was soft and smooth, almost like running water, it made Baekhyun feel assured so he followed him into a private room. Junmyeon had been prohibited from following Baekhyun. It bothered Baekhyun at first but then he felt assured after looking at the semi bald detective. However Junmyeon still stayed worried for Baekhyun’s caving sanity.

 

“Please take a seat.” Baekhyun sat down as he was instructed as Kyungsoo left the room. The room was small. There was just a heavy looking metal table and three chairs, two of which were occupied. The room was brightly lit. Baekhyun had always imagined the interrogation room to be dark and gloomy.

 

“Mr. Byun.” Kyungsoo said as he entered with some papers in his hands. Baekhyun’s eyes trailed the other male. “I need to ask you some questions about your sister and the day she went missing.”

 

“Okay.” Baekhyun said following Kyungsoo’s every move. “Do you have updates yet?”

 

Kyungsoo looked at Baekhyun with his large round eyes. His face was set in a firm gaze and it was unclear what he was thinking. He couldn’t even sort through his own head and now he had to stare at the man's maze of a face.

 

“In due time I will answer all of your questions. Right now, I just need some information from you." Kyungsoo said sifting through the papers he had brought with him. "But first, are you comfortable? Do you need anything?"

 

Baekhyun shook his head. 

 

"Can you please verbalise that for me?"

 

"I'm okay, and no i don't need anything thank you." Baekhyun elaborated. 

 

 

"So can you tell me a little about your sister?” He asked, putting his elbows on the table and leaning forward to show his interest in the conversation.

 

"Well, i have already told the previous detective that. Why do you need to know again."

 

Kyungsoo sighed. "Sir we have some of our best working on this case and you know every detail is very important, maybe this can lead to a new revelation and might help us know wat happened to Baekhee." Kyungsoo put him arms down on the table taking a stance that would not make Baekhyun feel threatened and continued. "I need you to please forget what you said in the other interview and be honest and thorough with me on what I ask okay? For Baekhee."

 

Bqekhyun took a shuddering breath at the mention of his sister. He nodded with a shaky okay. It was incredulous how he was managing to be this calm when nothing inside him felt like anything but tsunami.

 

"Well she is a good kid. S-she is good at studying. Always has been." He shook his head trying to focus. "She is good at drawing. I uh ... she takes ballet classes and-" Baekhyun looked up qt Kyungsoo again. "I don't see why you need to know this."

 

"You are doing great. Its helping trust me." Kyungsoo reassured, carefully monitoring the other. "Has she ever misbehaved? I mean she is a good kid as you say but she is a teen you know ... has she ever acted up?

 

 

 "After Baekbom's, our brother's death, she's been a little distant but well ... there were a few complaints from her teachers. But that's to be expected right? I mean after our parents Baekbeom was the closed thing she had to a father." Baekhyun could feel himself getting a little agitated talking about not one but two of the people that he missed so much right now. Mentioning Baekbeom, he could practically see his brother shake his head in disappointment. He felt like he had failed him in not being able to protect his sister. And oh it was so overwhelming.

 

But Kyungsoo said that it was helping so he had to go on. Before he could continue, the other male started to talk. 

 

"You say she was close to Baekboem?" He inquired, and Baekhyun affirmed. "How would you say she was with you?"

 

"Well she's always been closer to Beom. And the past year has been very hard to keep her in check, she is in a fragile age you know and ... "

 

"So have you ever like... felt angry a little? When she misbehaved or anything."

 

"I- " Baekhyun stopped himself feeling a trap coming his way.

 

"Well you know, " Kyungsoo tried to rectify for his blunt confrontation with some reassurance and reasoning. "Your parents are gone and so is your brother. You never expected to act as a parent. And we all have siblings its kind of easy to get in a fight."

 

"N-no I knew how hard it must have been for her so I always tried to be gentle with her." He said, his eyes quivering.

 

"So you never get angry or mad?"

 

"Well sometimes, I mean I have to establish some authority or she would never listen to me."

 

"Would you say you were a little angry the day she went missing?"

 

There it was, Baekhyun had done it. He had walked right into a trap.

 

"I ... are you...?" He tried to form a sentence but his tongue felt tied. "We fought a little but it wasn't serious, I mean i didn't think it was. I did scold her a little and she got very upset but ..."

 

"You said she left the house angry." Kyungsoo offered. "Did your outburst compel her to walk out?"

 

"Yes but ..."

 

"And did you follow her out?" Kyungsoo fired. 

 

At this point Baekhyun was so out of his skin that he was just saying anything and everything. 

 

"I did but..."

 

"You lost her while going after her and then you reported the girl missing 5 hours after her walking out. When it was 2 in the morning."

 

"I did. I don't- "

 

"Why Mr. Byun did it take you until 2 in the morning to tell authorities that a 12 year old kid was missing?"

 

"I was looking for her."

 

"I'm sorry, were you?" Kyungsoo said skeptically. He sifted through the papers again. "It says here, you previously stated that you came home and slept."

 

"I did. But then i woke up and she still wasn't home and so I called the police as i was looking for her."

 

Kyungsoo nodded. "Why did it take you 11th visit to tell us that you went looking out for her again."

 

Baekhyun could feel his anger level about to burst. The other man would not let him speak at all. He kept turning all his words against him.

 

"Please answer the question sir." Kyungsoo prompted.

 

Thay did it.

 

“The question is how close are you to finding Baekhee.” Baekhyun fired. 

 

He had not talked about her disappearance much and this was bugging him so much like someone was physically pulling out his hair.

 

“We’re getting closer.” Kyungsoo lied. The truth was that the case stood at the same spot it was where it was when it was reported 4 days ago. “And you are helping us get even closer by answering our questions and providing vital information about you and your sister.”

 

“How is the bonding status between me and Baekhee going to be of any help to you?” Baekhyun defended. He felt irritated, his head was going circles, he didn’t know why he felt so uncomfortable by these questions.

 

“Please Mr. Byun I get this is hard. Your sister--”

 

“Baekhee!” Baekhyun screamed, slamming his hand down on the table. “Her name is Baekhee, she is a person and he is missing and you still haven’t found her!”

 

Kyungsoo did not change his expressions, a small observant look stayed present on his face. He leaned back on his chair interlocking his fingers. 

 

“Okay I’ll get to the point.” He offered and bit his lip. “You and Baekhee were not close at all. The last time You saw her you guys had a fight. After she left angry and upset, the 12 year old girl, you let her walk out at 7 in the evening and then you tried to follow her but when you lost sight of her you came home and slept, also this is the first time you have shown any reaction to anything related to your sister.”

 

Baekhyun’s breath hitched. His heart skipped a beat and his breathing picked up its pace.

 

“Do you … A-are you … Are you suggesting that I … Ho-how even … I don't care what you think, she is coming back to me!” His voice shook. He tried his best to not pet it break because if he started to cry now, he won't be able to stop and he was not shedding a tear because Baekhee is alive and he will make sure that she comes home.

 

“She’s alive.” He whispered closing his eyes and rubbing them with his shaking hands.

 

Kyungsoo rubbed the bridge of his nose as he continued. “Are you aware of our finding? We found blood and it belonged to your sis-- Miss Byun.”

 

“I’m aware of that but a little blood doesn’t mean she’s … it doesn’t warrant what you are trying to say.” baekhyun shook his head feverently

“We have already disclosed to you the amount of it. It's highly possible.” Kyungsoo said again. 

 

Baekhyun had already been made aware of this. But it seemed like the guy in front of him was in denial at least for now Kyungsoo could exclude him from the list of suspects. When he had been given this case he especially wanted to meet the brother of the missing girl. He had to see for himself. 

 

Kyungsoo was able to tell by the look of Baekhyun’s eyes that he was not guilty but he still asked some questions he was unsure about. 

 

“Your other family members have all passed away right? A car crash was it?” Kyungsoo put out. “Baekhee was the last member from your family aside from your family.”

 

Baekhyun seemed genuinely hurt and Kyungsoo took a note of that. “My family is no concern of yours.”

 

“You see Mr. Byun that it is. It's concerning that in the end you’re the last surviving person from your family while all of your family has disappeared one by one.” The detective prodded and it seemed to work. 

 

What Kyungsoo didn’t know was why it actually worked. Because Baekhyun had spent years after his brother’s loss wishing that it was him. That it should have been him instead of his Brother. He could have kept Baekhee safer as well with his steady job and all. Baekhyun was never competent enough. “My parents died when I was 10 and my brother who raised me, who was like my father figure …” Baekhyun emphasized, so that the insensitive heartless detective could understand how much it meant to him to clear that he could never lift a finger to hurt his brother. How could he have thought Kyungsoo had a smooth soothing voice because right now it was driving daggers through his skull. Baekhyun put his head in his hands. “The brother who I looked up to for everything passed away in a car crash when his car went off the road on a patch of black ice in a road pile up 1 year ago.”

 

Kyungsoo saw it all in Baekhyun’s eyes this time, the conviction and he could see the boy was not lying he had also done his research before calling Baekhyun here and this was just a stepping stone in leading Baekhyun to reveal details about Baekhee. Baekhyun might have only been a grieving brother after the first loss but loss could do funny things to a person, including making them a threat to themselves and the ones around them.

 

“You think that I would ever lay a hand on Baekbeom?” Baekhyun felt sick even thinking about it. How could this man even suggest this. “All I see detective Do is that my sister is still missing and you haven’t done anything to find her. We fought because we have never healed after losing our brother and because I couldn’t send her to a trip she wanted to go to with her class because I could afford it." There was a headache gnawing at the back of his head he couldn’t get rid of, Baekhyun shifted his hand into a fist and drove his knuckles into his temples to ease it but that only seemed to make things worse. 

 

“I will give up the world now to have her back, if it's just a small trip she wants I’ll give her everything I have, just bring my sister home.”

 

Kyungsoo sat upright and once again leaned on the table. He had gotten what he needed from Baekhyun, an honest confession that told Kyungsoo that this was just a man suffering who hadn’t let out his anger and pain because he couldn’t believe his sister was no longer alive.

 

This was going to be hard. “Mr. Byun, we have had no evidence yet to confirm that she would be alive. It's been four days already and there has been no contact from the culprit. And we have that huge puddle of dried blood to indicate a clear …”

 

“That could belong to the other guy.” Baekhyun said through gritted teeth, how could he get it through this thick detective’s head that Baekhee was not dead. She was going to come home and he was going to treat her like a princess and let her go to the trip she wanted to go to and he would lay his own life down for her. “ You said someone else was attacked too didn't you? So don’t keep saying that she is gone! Stop it Okay? She is going to come and you will see then. The blood could be that bastard that was found drenched in her blood.” Baekhyun said bitterly. “If he had anything to do with her blood you found, I hope he dies.”

 

Kyungsoo took a deep breath and gathered his papers on the table. “That ‘bastard’ was trying to help your sister. He heard her scream for help before he bravely went into that ally and ended up in a coma. Also, that ‘Bastard that you wish would die’ is our only lead in this case, he is the only person who saw the killer and who can provide us some details about the culprit and what happened to your sister. So you better hope that 'bastard' doesn't die.”

 

“You can’t possibly know that it wasn’t him who was trying to attack her and he made this story up. And don’t call it a killer! Because Baekhee is NOT DEAD!!” Baekhyun shouted. His frantic eyes going wild and wide.

 

Kyungsoo was about to stand up, one hand filled with the paper he had carried into the room and the other hand braced on the back of his chair to propel himself up, he sat back down and started to explain.“So you are saying that he stabbed himself. Right. I know that you are a grieving man and you are in immeasurable pain but you shouldn't just assume things.” Kyungsoo said. 

 

"Isn't that what you detectives do though?" Baekhyun's voice had poison.

 

Kyungsoo he settled back on his chair. “Mr. Byun I am not supposed to say a lot about this to you but let me make this clear, I was the one who was called to the scene of the crime, i was also the one who took the statements and beside theirbeing no motives, there is no possibility that they hurt your sister.” Kyungsoo went to stand up again. “You better pray he wakes up from his coma or we won’t be able to find that body.”

 

“There is No body to find!” Baekhyun shouted and Kyungsoo paused. He knew he was not the most compassionate person in the field but he could understand where Baekhyun was coming from. Denial was a .

 

“I’m sorry Mr. Byun but i am not the one to give out any fake hope cards. You need to come to terms with it.” He said softly and walked around the table to the door behind Baekhyun. He placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder for a small moment before he walked out completely.

 

Baekhyun sat there, devastated and totally torn apart. His world was coming crashing down. The belief that Baekhee would come back alive, was the only one keeping him going and now ...

 

No, she was going to come back. He was sure. His baby had to be alive. His bud. He was sure. But was he?

No he wasn’t not anymore. Baekhyun clenched his jaw and stood up furiously from his chair and exited the room. Junmyeon stood up as soon as he saw Baekhyun walk out. He had to run to catch up to Baekhyun’s fast pace. 

 

“Are you okay? What did he ask?” Junmyeon asked when he caught up to Baekhyun. The other male glared at Junmyeon before he yanked open the door to the car and got in the driver's seat. Junmyeon raced to stop him.

 

“Let me go home.” Baekhyun said heatedly as Junmyeon grabbed his arm and tried to coax him out of the driver seat.

 

“I can’t let you …”

 

“I want to go home!” Baekhyun insisted. 

 

"Then let me drive." He said and guided Baekhyun back to the passenger seat and secured his seatbelt. 

 

After that Baekhyun became silent and rested his head on the windshield. Junmyeon kept glancing at him every now and then through the corner of his eyes throughout the ride. He wanted to say a lot to Baekhyun but he didn’t know how to comfort a man as scared as Baekhyun had now become.

 

He wanted to treat Baekhyun as normal, so that Baekhyun can find comfort in him, a little hint of norm in his hell fire of a life. But he could not protect Baekhyun this time. Not from the pain that was going to follow.

The car hadn’t stopped completely when Baekhyun was already out of it and to his hou’s door the house that belonged to Baekboem and who had left everything to Baekhyun and solved the issue of a roof over his sibling’s head even as he had left this world. Baekhyun struggled to get the key in place and open the door by that time Junmyeon was already beside him and he was texting someone, Sehun perhaps. Telling him where he was.

 

Baekhyun stormed in his house, where he hadn’t been since he had gotten the news that his sister was dead.

 

She was …

 

His sister.

 

His Baekhee.

 

His bud who had yet to bloom.

 

Was gone.

 

No, not gone, taken.

 

Murdered.

 

He looked around the house and saw his sister’s bag on the couch and her coat beside the door and there was His sister’s favorite mug featuring an image of her favorite anime, he had given that mug to her on her birthday. 

 

There was that scarf piece that baekbeom had gotten for her and she loved to wear it everywhere.

 

And now she was taken from him. She will not have a boyfriend. She will never go to school again. She won’t bug Baekhyun to buy her the most stunning prom dress. She will never have breakfast with him again which she never failed to do until the day she went missing no matter how angry she was. She would never do anything ever again. Because her life had been cut short brutally and …

 

Did she suffer?

 

Baekhyun couldn’t answer that question. He couldn’t answer that question because he didn’t even have a body to put to rest because that sick human being who had ed her life up and his along with her’s hadn’t even left that much for Baekhyun to take back.

 

The killer had killed 2 people with one blow.

 

His precious Baekhee. 

 

Baekhyun fell on his knees on the rug that she had gone and selected with Baekbeom. 

 

Baekhyun felt sick all over and hunched over even more, in a full bow. He tried to keep himself together but the lump in his throat grew too painfull, the air in his lungs was trapped. He felt a comforting arm around his back as he struggled to breathe through the lump in his throat.

 

Right, he had forgotten that Junmyeon was even there. 

 

He tried to focus on Junmyeon’s comforting presence, trying so hard to not break down. 

 

She wasn’t dead! There was no body. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he heard a whisper. “I am no sorry that she is gone Baekhyun.”

 

Junmyeon whispered and that was when baekhyun’s face contorted with pain.

 

Numbing mind wrecking pain and his forehead met the rug and he started to cry.

 

Little noise began to escape his throat as his sobs became more and more heavy.

 

A scream built inside of him, it wanted to be let out. But all that came out of his mouth was a distorted name.

 

"Baekhee. Baekhee. Baekhee.” Over and over again he repeated this name as he sobbed as tears formed a dark spot on the rug, as he hit the floor with his fists as Junmyeon still kept holding him.

 

“Not you too!” came out of Baekhyun’s mouth. “Not you too!” Like a mantra. “I can't lose you too.” Like a chant. “Come back to me!” and then back to repeating her name. He begged and begged whoever god was out there to give him one more chance. 

 

He promised that he would protect his family better this time around and to give him one more chance. One more chance.

 

But it was all cries, utterly painful cries from a person who had lost everything at every point in his life and now he was left to question himself that what he was still doing alive when all of his family was gone.

 

The question he had been trying hard to push away for years.

 

The cries were endless, the tears, the pleas, the pain. It was all endless. An endless pit of suffering, an ocean and Baekhyun was drowning because it was not just Baekhee. That one loss brought back the loss of his brother, his wife and their beautiful children.

And that was where he faded away from his world. He faded while still crying. He knew that he would wake up and when he did, he'd be a changed man.

 

°~°

 

It was 3:34 in the morning when Kyungsoo woke up. Still in the haze of sleep he tried to figure out what had woken him up. It was then that his phone rang again and saw who was calling. 

 

"Yes Tao?"

 

"Hyung." The voice from the otherside was breathless, elated almost. "He woke up."

 

 

°~°