D.O.' s POV

I will block the intense wind for you as your guardian

"How's Luhan?" I asked.

Lay stopped drinking his tea and sighed before he looked at me. He rubbed his temples in frustration, then sighed again.

"Lay?"

"It seems he's slipped into a coma somehow." Lay told me, then took another sip of his hot drink.

"Coma?" I echoed in disbelief. "Was he injured?"

"No, he wasn't. I found no physical injury on him. It's not exactly a coma, but it's very similar. I seems like his brain somehow blocked itself off to protect him." Lay explained.

"When will he recover?" I asked quietly.

"...." Lay didn't respond for a few minutes as he just continued to drink from his mug. "I don't know."

"I know you can sense these things, Lay." I told him softly. "You don't need to lie to me."

"I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't want to say it out loud since..." Lay sighed again. It seems like it's all he could do these days. "I don't know, D.O.. I... I don't know if he'll ever wake up again."

I was speechless as I just stared at him with blank eyes. The new information just didn't seem to be registering into my brain. I opened my mouth to say something, but when nothing came out, I just closed it again.

"...Never?" I asked again, my voice barely audible.

"I--" Lay's breath hitched in his throat. "I d-don't know."

His back was to me, so it took me a few seconds to realize that he was crying. Shocked to see him like that, I walked over hesitantly then wrapped my arms around him awkwardly. I was never really the type to show emotions often, so it felt kind of weird to be comforting someone.

"D.O.? Lay?" a voice called from behind us.

I looked back and saw Baekhyun looking at us with big and surprised eyes. We just stared at each other as none of us had words to say.

"W-what's wrong?" Baekhyun asked.

"It's... Luhan." I told him. Since we're brothers, there was nothing to hide.

"Luhan? What's wrong? Is the sleeping beauty still in his slumber?" Baekhyun joked, but his laughter died down very fast when neither of us laughed with him. Lay was still crying silently on my shoulder as I held him.

"He might never wake up again, Baekhyun." I said quietly.

Baekhyun stared at me for a few moments before bursting out into laughter. "You're joking. You have to be. I- I can s-see it on your face."

I looked at Baekhyun sadly as he laughed a bit more. He's always been the brighter and happier of my brothers, and also the emotional one. Even though Baekhyun hated crying and being weak, he's always one of the first to break into tears. Since even Lay, the calmest out of all of us, was breaking down, I knew Baekhyun would too.

"He.... He can't. He has to wake up. W-Who's going to make bubble tea with me? And... Collect leaves... And... And have snowball fights...?" Baekhyun's voice grew thicker with each word and more tears pooled in his eyes. Soon, he was bawling. I gently pulled Lay along with me so I could hold Baekhyun in my arms as well.

A few minutes later, Xiumin poked his head in through the door and looked around before his eyes fell on the three of us in the kitchen.

"W-What's going on?" the oldest of us asked with shocked eyes.

I didn't feel like explaining the depressing situation about Luhan again, so I just shook my head. Xiumin understood my gesture and didn't ask anymore. Instead, he walked over to us and wrapped his arms around us.

Even Kris came in a few minutes later after sensing something unusual about the quiet house. Usually it was a lot louder when Baekhyun and... Luhan... Ran around playing. Then the house would be filled with the scent of delicious food as Lay cooked meals and snacks for us. Kris would likely be trying to train Hiou as Xiumin and I watched while having a little conversation. However, the atmosphere in the house today was cold and silent, nothing like how it usually was.

Soon, the five of us were in a large group just comforting each other and trying to swallow our tears. We could only wish that Luhan will wake up.

▪ ▫ ▪ ▫ ▪ ▫

I decided to come out to the supermarket to buy some food since Lay didn't seem to be in the mood for cooking. However, I wasn't even paying attention to what I was putting in the basket since I was feeling so down. My eyes lingered on the honey section for no particular reason and I just stared at it blankly for a good ten minutes.

Suddenly, it reminded me of the time when I was helping out the other boy with slightly tanned skin and dark eyes. Somehow, it lifted my mood the slightest bit as an image of his face appeared in my mind. It snapped me out of my daze and just as I was about to reach for a bottle of honey, a familiar deep voice sounded behind me.

"You're reaching for the bad one." it said.

Startled, I jerked my head back and felt it smack into something hard. I turned around and saw the boy I had just been thinking about a few minutes ago in person. He was holding his nose and was slouched over in pain as his eyes watered from the impact by the head.

"Sorry!" I quickly said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I guess so." he said, then lowered his hand. "I didn't expect to see you here again."

"Me either." I admitted.

Kai chuckled. "And I sure wasn't expecting to give you advice."

I felt myself smile at his laughter. "You learn fast."

Kai shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some food."

"Like?"

"I'm not sure. What are you here for?"

"Honey, tea.... Tapioca pearls." Kai said.

I felt myself flinch slightly at the ingredients he listed. It sounded like he was making bubble tea... the drink that Luhan loves. I felt myself tear up slightly, shocking Kai.

"W-What's wrong, D.O.?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Nothing. Sorry. I... I should get going." I said as I quickly wiped my eyes.

"Are you sure? If there's something you want to talk about, I'm more than willing to listen." he told me with a worried look in his eyes.

I tried to give him an sincere smile. "It's okay. I think I'll be fine."

"Are you sure...?" Kai asked, unconvinced.

"Yeah. Thanks though." I told him.

"Okay then. I'll see you later." he said, then started to walk away.

I watched as he left, step by step. Then just as he was about to disappear behind an aisle, I called out his name without meaning to, and he looked back in surprise.

"A-- Actually... Can I talk to you some time?" I asked shyly.

Kai smiled. "Sure. When?"

"How about tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'll meet you here at noon tomorrow and we can go get something to eat?" he suggested.

I felt myself smile for real this time. "Okay!"

"All right then. See you tomorrow." Then he disappeared.

I knew I would get in trouble for doing this behind Father's back, but I couldn't help but want to see Kai again. Something about him just made me feel warm... Like I've known him all my life. Hopefully, I would be able to find out more about him tomorrow.

- - - - -

KaiSoo this chapter~
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