Chapter Thirty One
Can I continue feeling this way?
pic credit to http://tb-cont.tumblr.com
A sickening rush of nausea coursed through me as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. XiuMin’s words echoed through my head.
Kiss.
Kiss.
Kiss.
No where in our conversations did Tao ever mention that they had kissed. And the way he spoke of my baby, calling him that. Where the hell did he get that word? The hell did he find the gall to use it in such a harsh way? The word itself is bad enough; my boyfriend is no ing . I swallowed dryly. The whole room had frozen; no one was moving and I doubt they even had heartbeats at this point. Never before had any of us seen an outburst of this magnitude from him. And directed towards us at that.
I needed to clear this up.
“I’m going to-”
“I’m going to talk to him.” Tao interrupted me and shakily stood up. He looked to me with a not-so-confident expression and gulped, probably trying to swallow any of his dinner that threatened to come back up.
“I’m going with you.” I demanded and began to stand up, but felt a weight on my shoulder that gently pushed me to sit down once more.
“No. I need to do this. Alone.” He looked into my eyes and I could tell he wanted to kiss me but was afraid of any consequences that might come of it. His eyes fluttered to the other still pallid bodies in their chairs and then back to me, hesitant. He started to turn to leave and I then did what my impulses bid me to do. I stood up from my chair, grabbed a hold of his arm, turned him around, and kissed him deeply. At this point our relationship was no longer a secret and the others were so dazed I doubt they were in-tune to anything that was currently happening.
“Ten minutes. And if you’re not out by then I’m coming to find you.” I told Tao with authority. As the leader, I should’ve gone with him regardless to sort this mess out but it seemed the boy needed to do this on his own. I reluctantly let go and watched him walk out. I turned back to find all other eyes on me, searching, asking, begging for some type of explanation. There was no point in keeping this a secret anymore.
“I don’t exactly know what just happened,” I began, “but I do have something to tell you that I think may have played a part in this.” They simply nodded and my heart started to race at the thought of not knowing how they would react. A sudden twinge of fear overtook me and I had to take a deep breath to calm myself to allow me to speak these words aloud.
Lay noticed I was having trouble and gave me an encouraging nod. With that, I composed myself.
“I… asked Tao to be my b-boyfriend.” I silently reprimanded myself for stuttering and analyzed their reactions.
Which were… nonexistent.
Luhan tuned in and looked at me confusedly. “That’s… it?” He asked.
I looked at him, shocked. He didn’t have the reaction I was expecting- that of disgust. “You’re not mad or-?”
Luhan interrupted me. “No! I’m so happy for you!! Why didn’t you tell us right when you got home?!” He paused, as if trying to decide if he should say something. “And you two aren’t the only ones like that in EXO.”
It was as if a switch had flipped.
To gossip mode.
He leaned in and began to whisper. “There are two couples in EXO-K. Kai is dating Kyungsoo and Chanyeol is dating Baekhyun. You have nothing to hide.” He answered with a reassuring smile, a complete contrast to what the big issue was. Speaking of that, it had been more than ten minutes.
“Thank you, you guys. I’m glad I told you. But now I have to go and check on Tao. He should’ve com-” I stopped mid sentence and almost fell to the floor. I grasped the chair for support as the room spun uncontrollably, effectively stopping me from going to find Tao. I heard voices all around me but I couldn’t find the energy to distinguish who they were coming from. I took a few breaths to steady myself and instantly knew why I was feeling like this.
I stood up in my dizzy state and started walking out. I shook off all of the arms that tried to stop me. “N-no. Somet-thing is wrong with Tao. I can f-feel it.” I said to them.
And never looked back.
TAO’S POV
I stood there, heart ready to thud out of its chest as I prepared to meet the very one who accused me. I needed to set things right. And I had completely forgotten to tell Kris about the kiss we shared after Disneyland. I looked to Kris only to see him shoot up and connect our lips. I fully accepted it and could see that Kris felt just as confused and nervous as I did. With that I walked into the room that held the raging boy.
I closed the door behind me. The lights were off but I could see a figure stand up from the bed and come towards me. No light was needed to see the venomous look shooting out of his eyes.
“XiuMin, I-”
“Tao. How could you get together with him?” he took a step towards me.
“After all he’s done to you?” He took another step forward.
“You’ve already forgotten how he betrayed you?” He stepped forward once more, now only a foot in front of me. My breathing hitched as did my heartbeat.
“It’s not like that…” I managed to mumble and looked down.
“NOT LIKE THAT?!” he yelled. I jumped and glanced up at him only to have my vision forced to the side as his hand smacked my face. I stumbled and immediately brought my hand to the stinging flesh, mouth hung open from complete shock that he had hit me, and with such force at that.
“I liked you first! And then he comes along and just snatches you away with such ease. Why did you say yes?” His voice cracked and his eyes shifted to the side.
He slapped me with such force I had to pop my jaw before trying to answer him. “Because I like him.” I replied truthfully.
At this point, fingers could be used to cut the tension in the air.
I saw him hold up a clenched fist and immediately walked backwards. With every step I took back, he followed.
“Break up with him.” He demanded.
“W-what?!” I stuttered as I bumped into something behind me, stopping me from moving any further away from the elder.
He stopped in front of me. “I said break up with him. Now.” His knuckles were white, his fist still in a clenched state.
“No.” I replied with a sudden rush of boldness that I regretted immediately.
His fist was sent flying into the side of my face. I instantly covered it with my hand, trying to take my mind off of the searing pain that shot through my skull. I tried to look at him but my vision blurred, causing me to lean on the wall behind me so that I didn’t fall over.
“You’re mine. No one else can have you. What don’t you understand about that?” he asked, sounding as if he was truly hurt from my actions.
When he closed the gap between us, I couldn’t help but cower. I couldn’t get away. There was no escape. A slow stream of fearful tears began to fall from my eyes; my heart raced as if it was trying to escape the cavern of my chest; I wanted to scream for help but I knew that my voice would fail me even in the slightest of attempts.
“Say you’re mine and break up with him. Or else.” XiuMin cracked his fingers with sickening force.
I gulped dryly and slowly shook my head. No amount of threatening would get me to do that. Just the thought made me sick to my stomach.
His mouth dropped at my silent answer and I watched his fingers as they came up and placed themselves on my throat. I tried to take a breath but realized that something was obstructing my airways. The pressure on my throat increased and I could feel what little air I had left being squeezed out of me. I opened my mouth to scream but couldn’t find my voice and couldn’t breathe any air back in.
Reaching my hands up, I grasped his wrists and tried to get him off of me. I scratched him and kicked him, but my attempts were futile as black dots started to form in my vision. My face felt hot as the blood pulsated through me; I soon felt more than light headed.
I knew wouldn’t last much longer.
It was then I saw a flash. Memories flooded my mind- those of first becoming a trainee, getting into a group. Falling for Kris the moment I saw him, being asked to be his boyfriend, teasing him like no tomorrow. And lastly, the deep kiss we shared not thirty minutes ago.
One last pulse of my heart bid me enough energy to speak of him.
“Wo ai ni, Wu Yifan.” I whispered,
my now empty cadaver collapsing to the floor.
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