Notes:

FINALLY! Yes, I can actually imagine some people saying that. This chapter is beta-read by myself and I did it swift so there's bound to be some mistakes.

29^th May, 2010

                Kris sluggishly threw himself onto the sofa. He closed his eyes. It was relaxing. He inhaled loudly through his nose and settled deeper against the plush cool leather. Until it bracketed his lanky body.

Hmm…nice, he drowsily thought.

                It’s that moment of tranquillity you’d experience when you snuggled into your comfortable favourite couch, that ambivalence between the cool surface with icy scent and the warm atmosphere that you catalogued as one thing – and one thing only-

                Home.

                He knew that the lazy afternoon light still streamed into the living room. He could see it through his eyelids and exhaled as he adjusted his body into a position he’s more content in. Legs crossed, head pillowed comfortably as he blindly faced the ceiling.

                It wasn’t silent. No, it wasn’t. He could still hear the muffled sound of the TV that he knew the other occupant of the house had switched on. The unintelligible voices floated around him that he was almost lulled into a nap. Almost.

                That was until he felt something touching his scalp. It wasn’t intrusive; in fact, the touch was very much welcomed. His chest rumbled as the silent caress went down to his jaw and then he felt soft pressure on his lips. A flash of the scene from Spiderman crossed his mind.

An upside-down, closed-mouthed, innocent kiss.

                On instinct, his lips chased after the warm lips as they lifted from his. His nose bumped against the person’s chin. But it didn’t take long for him to feel those cheeky feathery pressures again. And pliantly, he turned his head as those very same lips kissed his cheek, kissed his jaw, kissed his pulse point and stayed.   

                He hummed appreciatively as a warm pair of arms encircled his neck, dangling hands rested on his chest and began rubbing against his clothed skin in a calming manner. He heard an echoing hum brushing against his ear. Eyes still closed, he caught one slim hand and intertwined their equally long fingers and enjoyed the lazy petting. 

Kris smugly smirked.

                They stayed that way for a while.

                Gently, he tugged at the embrace and pried an arm over his head. There wasn’t much protest as he pulled slowly, and before long he could feel a body gingerly settling on his lap. He hummed his approval at the comfortable heat and weight. His face became subject to more loving; his temple, his forehead, his eyelids and his nose were peppered with more kisses as warm hands cupped his cheeks. Long lashes tickled his face. His hands rested idly on the other’s tapered waist – thumb rubbing circles against the covered skin then his palms moved down to the thighs against his sides, then up again as if mapping the limbs, before his sneaky hands cupped the other’s bottom. His face was sporting a lazy upturn – the corner of his mouth.  He hummed again and his contentment was echoed.

                He cracked an eye open. Then both.

                But soft, lush lips landed on his again and his eyes snapped shut willingly.

                “I love you,” he voiced out. And pulled the other closer – more into his lap and emphasised his ‘love’ as his hips nudged forward.

                Chanyeol chuckled lightly. He rubbed Kris’ scalp, sliding his bony hands down and caressed the other’s nape and soft silken hair. He rested his chin on the other’s sharp shoulder and placed his lips under Kris’ newly pierced earlobe. He swayed slowly to adjust his position and such a tease, his smile triumphant when he heard the groan he garnered.

                “I love you too,” Chanyeol replied false coyly, pressing his lips against the pulse point on Kris’ jugular. And Kris grunted.

                “Tease.”

                “I could let you love me….” his eyes snapped up to the time behind Kris’ head, “…but we have less than an hour. We’re needed somewhere you know? So it’s either you love me quick – here and now – or you can love me later…much, much later tonight. And I’ll let. you. have. your. way...”

                He felt Kris’ jaw moved and felt his body moved along as Kris’ straightened. And Kris’ big hands were already slithering under his shirt, up and down his tailbone the other’s fingers skated. His husband was up for the challenge then. His own hands were already tugging at Kris’ belt.

                “I think less than hour is enough.”

                And Chanyeol swooped down for a delighted kiss.     

SM Entertainment Building

Acting class

                “1, 2, 3…Give it your best!” their teacher excitedly shouted.

                Jongin stepped closer toward the centre of the room. His expression was carefully placed. The almost matching one was sported by Sehun as he met the other face to face.

                “I expected better from you,” Jongin spat.

                “What do you want me to do then?” Sehun gritted back, fists clenched at his side as he glared at Jongin.

                Jongin scoffed and inhaled harshly.

                “And cut! Next pair!” their acting coach, the lovely Miss Ryu grinned. Today it was her turn to teach the boys and they were doing ad-lib acting. And supposedly, they were going to enact a scene in which they came up with their own lines and continue the acting sequence pair after pair.

               Sehun his lips, proud of his own acting and Jongin slouched back to his spot against the wall. At the same time, Tao and Kyungsoo took up their positions and Kyungsoo perfected Sehun’s previous pose.

                “Remember! It’s not just the dialogues but also body language – use it. And go!”

                Tao inhaled sharply and turned his face slightly away from Kyungsoo.

                “You shouldn’t have done it,” one-third of the youngest whispered – now the ‘character’ sounded broken and betrayed.

Tao had always liked acting and considered himself good at manipulating emotions. Maybe it was his emphatic nature but whatever it was, he decided it helped him with the practical.

Kyungsoo darted his eyes to Tao’s face then to the ground and up to Tao’s face, his usually blank face looked saddened; the face of someone conflicted.

“Tao…” Kyungsoo stepped closer and hesitantly put a hand on Tao’s elbow. His upper body tilted slightly and their audience was shown the illusion of Kyungsoo being earnest as he tried to look Tao on the face. “I didn’t mean for it to hurt anybody…”

“Cut! Good job you two. Okay, next couple up!”

Chanyeol took a deep calming breath. All the while leading up to the moment his heart was hammering against his chest. He walked across the room noting how Jongdae, his partner’s face was already tight. Hmm, that he wondered. Jongdae hadn’t been acting like himself for the past few days. Maybe he got a problem but Jongdae didn’t seem to want to share it with the rest of them so Chanyeol left him be – a privacy? That he could give.

“Good luck,” Kris muttered from behind him and he turned to give the older a smile. Chanyeol missed the narrowed gaze Jongdae gave the two.

“Hurry, hurry,” their impatient instructor called out and Chanyeol nimbly but almost falling on his way, took position in front of a grim-looking Kim Jongdae.

“Cue!”

Jongdae grunted, startling Chanyeol.

“Listen, I really didn’t mean to hurt anybody…” Chanyeol said – Kyungsoo’s apologetic character. He stepped forward, intent on appeasing the upset-looking Jongdae.

But Jongdae quickly stepped back, as if repulsed and his face soured. He stared at Chanyeol and stared hard. A tiny voice at the back of Chanyeol’s head cheered a little – impressed – at Jongdae’s intense acting.

“Listen, I-“

“No. you listen,” Jongdae pointed a finger straight at him. Chanyeol was startled. Before he could reply, Jongdae was already opening his mouth.

“What were you thinking, huh??”

Chanyeol gaped at the harshness of the words. His mind blanked out on him and his mouth moved but no voice came out. He knew he should’ve thought of what to say back.

“That little secret of yours? That’s cruel, you know, just cruel. You think you’re careful enough? Think again,” Jongdae practically hollered at him.

Chanyeol’s heart clenched.

“And…CUT!”  

Chanyeol blinked. Jongdae already fled to his previous position and in the background, Park Chanyeol registered their coach praising Kim Jongdae for his marvellous emotional acting. And him for his use of facial expression to convey body language.

The almost 18-year-old teen nodded numbly at the lady. He didn’t realised he’d moved himself from the centre of the room and sat himself beside Kris. He looked up at his spouse to see the worry in the other’s silence. Instinctively, he huddled closer to the older teen. Kris’ hand rubbed his back and he calmed a little.

“Better?” Kris whispered to him.

“Yeah…I’m fine.” He mumbled back.

“What’s that about? I don’t remember seeing you acting like that before. You okay?”

Chanyeol shrugged. He felt he should share what he thought. What if…

“…Did you hear what Jongdae said?”

Kris frowned and nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

“It sounds so real to me. As if he’s really angry at me.”

 Kris nodded. “Look, don’t think too much about it. It’s only acting, Yeol. It’s got to look real to be convincing.”

“But it’s as if he knows, hyung. Like he knows!” Chanyeol’s whisper sounded slightly hysterical.

His eyes met Kris’ and Kris knew the hidden message in Chanyeol’s desperation. He clutched at Chanyeol’s side and pulled the younger even closer, their legs touching. His eyes hardened and his jaw tensed.

‘What if Jongdae founds out about their secret marriage? What if he tells everybody?’

Kris hoped Chanyeol’s wrong with his assumption.

Wu-Park Residence

                Kris left his phone on his dresser that afternoon. The phone lay silent in their bedroom but not for long.

                It vibrated against the table’s surface and buzzed. Someone was calling. It lasted for a while before the buzzing quieted down. A few moments later, the screen of the phone lighted up again and buzzed. The person calling was trying to reach Kris again. However, it out again when nobody was picking up the phone

                The call came in again for a few times – all from the same number.

Desperate, it seemed.

                A few minutes later, as if knowing there was no hope in reaching Kris Wu at that time, the phone stilled. The clock ticked in seconds – the only white noise.

                But then a single jingle filled the air.

                A text message came in.

                And before the screen faded out, the words blinked bright. Two short sentences. But it carried a lot. And could change everything.

                ‘Yifan, there’s a problem at home. Get back to me as soon as you can.’