If happy ever after did exist...

Kris slammed his fist onto the coffee table, defeated. He didn’t know what it was about Tao, but no matter how much he tried to apologize, Tao continued to be mad at him.

He had to admit that it wasn’t like him to do something like that. He had been so drunk that everything that had happened last night was all a blur to him. It was Chanyeol who hesitantly told him the details earlier.

***

A loud sound from somewhere else inside the dorm woke Kris up. He turned his head to look at the alarm clock and immediately clutched at his forehead. It was pounding and hurt like no other. Why did he have a headache? He tried to think about what happened last night. Oh yeah, he had drank. He pulled his sloppily-buttoned top up for a sniff. Yup, he had drank, and he reeked of the smell, too. He slowly got off his bed as the loud noises from outside of the room continued. He wondered who was making all that ruckus.

He grabbed a new set of clothes and staggered to the bathroom to take a shower. On the way he bumped into one of the guys but didn’t care enough to see who it was. The bathroom was empty because, like usual, he was the last one to wake up. He brushed his teeth, showered, put on his clean clothes, and opened the door of the bathroom to see Chanyeol standing right outside.

Kris gasped. “Chanyeol!” he exclaimed. “You scared the crap out of me!” He tried to squeeze his way past Chanyeol but the latter stuck his arm out.

“Hey, um, can we talk for a bit?” Chanyeol asked with concern on his face.

Kris immediately got worried. Chanyeol had never asked him to ‘talk’ before. “Why? What’s wrong?” Kris demanded.

Another loud slam came from somewhere, possibly the kitchen or living room. “That,” Chanyeol replied. “That’s what’s wrong.”

Kris beckoned Chanyeol to his room, and the latter followed him inside. “What’s going on out there?” he questioned after he threw his dirty clothes into the hamper and closed the bedroom door.

Chanyeol shook his head sadly. “It’s Tao,” he answered. “Last night he got extremely angry and told us that tomorrow morning he’s gonna pack up and leave, and that’s what he’s doing right now.”

“Leave?” Kris repeated. “Why in the world would he do that?” When Chanyeol didn’t say anything, Kris continued, curiosity getting the better of him. “What happened last night, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol looked straight at Kris and crossed his arms. “Do you not remember?” he asked with raised brows.

Kris shook his head. “No,” he answered. “All I remember is that I drank a lot.”

Letting out a long sigh, Chanyeol reached into his back pocket and withdrew something. He handed the flat object to Kris, and that was when Kris realized it was a photo. “This will explain about what happened last night,” Chanyeol informed.

Kris took a good look at the photo and was so shocked he dropped it. “Who took that?!” he shouted.

“Tao, of course. Who else would?” Chanyeol bent down and grabbed the photo from the floor.

“So…so…he saw everything?” Kris demanded. He didn’t even need to ask, but he felt that maybe if he did, he would be wrong for once. Or maybe Chanyeol would exclaim “I got ya!” and the other guys would come running in like this was a prank. Or maybe this wasn’t really happening and Kris was just having a bad dream.

But like Kris had feared, Chanyeol gravely nodded.

***

Kris had managed to make Tao sit down in the living room and was trying to apologize and persuade Tao to stay. “Come on, Tao, you can’t leave just because of that! You know I didn’t mean it! I was drunk!” Kris tried pleading his case, but it seemed like no matter what he said, Tao was not going to change his mind.

Tao rolled his eyes. “You were drunk, and yet you were able to take off your clothes and her clothes, as well?”

Kris stomped his foot. “You saw how much I drank last night! None of you guys stopped me. I drank so much I didn’t even know what I was doing afterward--”

“Stop it.” Tao cut him off before he could finish. “Just stop it, okay? The deed has been done, and now you have to take responsibility for your actions.” Tao looked away and wiped a tear from his face. “I can’t stay here and watch…” He got up and made his way for the front door.

Kris immediately got on his feet and grabbed Tao by the arm. “No, Tao! You can’t go! I’m sorry, Tao! I won’t do it again, I promise! I won’t even drink again!” He got closer to Tao and looked into his eyes. “Tao, you know I only love you. So please, please don’t go.”

Tao sniffed as more tears slid down his face. “It’s too late, Kris. I have to go. I’m sorry.” He jerked his arm out of Kris’ grasp and swiftly headed out the door before Kris could block him.

Kris stood at the doorway and watched Tao go, his eyes b with tears. He felt Chanyeol’s presence behind him and asked out loud, “He’ll be back, right? He isn’t gone forever, is he?”

Chanyeol didn’t respond.

***

During the taxi ride, Tao cried and cried like he had never cried before. The driver asked him what was wrong, but Tao just shook his head. He had had so much hope in Kris. Their relationship had blossomed into something beautiful and a night of carelessness and drunkenness had turned everything upside down. How could he stay and watch Kris marry that girl and make his own family? A family that didn’t involve him? He wanted them to only look at each other, only love each other. He didn’t want to stick around if Kris was going to be married to someone else.

Tao wiped at his face and pulled a photo out of his sweater pocket. It was his favorite photo of the two of them. Kris had rested his arm across Tao’s shoulders, and Tao had wrapped his arm comfortably around Kris’ waist. It was a photo that exuded warmth and love, but all Tao felt right now was pain. He leaned back onto the taxi seat and continued looking at the photo through his tears.