Chapter 48

破碎的承诺

Pòsuì de chéngnuò

[Thursday]

Chanyeol doesn’t even know if he should be crying or just accept the news altogether. He doesn’t even know how things went this way. Oh. Wait. He knows. Myungsoo told him last time. About his eyes, that it’s worsening and that he might be blind soon if he won’t get any treatment for it. Of course, he knew. How could he not? It’s his eyes after all.

He remembers nodding it off, muttering an ‘okay’ to Myungsoo before leaving the house and go to the café to hear the soothing melody of the piano. He remembers the constant worried glances of his older brother to him, unspoken but so loud that he knows what those unspoken words are. He continues, to live on. To try to live on and be himself for once, but as he noticed the days passed, he was slowly drifting away from who he is.

He was losing himself, not being himself, at all.

He chuckles humourlessly, his flat chuckles echoing in his dark room. He looks at the photo frame of him and his best friend. Memories flashes, all but bad memories. The good ones were all but drowned in the deepest abyss of his mind. Memories of how he lost his parents and best friend in one day and how he have come to hate the phoenix with all his soul.

It was cruel, he thought. All of it. The past. It was way too cruel to fix back who he really was and that makes him laugh out, so flatly because it’s sickening and cruel and how pathetic he is. Trapped in the memories of the past and the love that is burned down since a long time ago, he really looks pitiful, so weak and pathetic.

He stands up from his bed, settling himself on his seat before grabbing a pen and paper from the drawer and starts writing on it.

After a half of an hour writing on the single piece of paper, Chanyeol places the pen at rest on the side and takes a brief scan on the words he placed on the paper before folding it into 2 half folds. He fishes out his phone from his pocket, pressing the speed-dial one before pressing the phone on his ear, waiting for the person on the other line to pick up.

After a few more rings, the call is picked up.

“Hello?”

Chanyeol smiles at the voice.

“Hi, hyung,” he whispers as his eyes soften.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun’s voice sounded groggy.

“Were you sleeping?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Um, but it's okay. What’s up?” His voice cracked at the end and Chanyeol notices that it may have been because the lack of talking for how many years. The older must still have been adjusting to how he could control his voice. He smiles a bit, thinking how he loved that voice since then.

“Can we meet up? I have something to say,” he states. A bit blank, but subtle enough not to notice it by the latter.

“Huh, oh okay. At the park in 30 minutes,” Baekhyun replies, shuffling noises were heard in the background and Chanyeol takes note that Baekhyun must be getting ready to change or something.

“Yeah, meet you there,” he replies back, his voice cracking in the end.

Baekhyun hums, “Yeah, meet you there.”

And the call ended. Once it ended, Chanyeol places his phone on his desk, a tear running down to his cheek. Too soon to realize, he was crying. Crying by the fact that he is going to be selfish for once, by the fact how he changed so much and by the fact that he could hear his heart breaking into two.

He smiles before chuckling bitterly. So bitter and pained. Tears continue to rolls down from his eyes as he chuckles once more before he sobs. He lets out a pained sob, hands forming into fists on his lap. He cries silently on his chair, letting the pain and bitterness that he kept for how many years out from his chest. He never cried since the day the world shuts him down. When all things come to this, he finally cried.

Finally, he was able to let out the heavy feelings that he kept up for so long, that he cradled with his poor beating scarred heart. Oh how brave and strong he is, he laughs this time.

Disoriented and somehow blank.

He lets out a shaky breath, his lips tugging upwards a bit.

“This is for the better, Bai Xian. I hope you’ll forgive me though,” he whispers before standing up and leaving his room, leaving the letter and his phone on his desk.

Baekhyun recovered his memories not too long ago, actually. It was around the time when he could stutter a single word and how the blurry memories becomes clear, showing the little boy of his past and how it turns out to be Chanyeol. It was a shock for him, to actually recover his voice and his memories of the past. He didn’t think that he was able to recover his voice but somehow he did.

It actually hurts a lot, to get his voice back. It came out deep, husky and pained from the start, but somehow his voice got steady a bit when he got his session with the doctor about it. The Wu’s were very happy, of course. They celebrated about it, having him regaining his voice back and Baekhyun would just smile. His throat constricts in pain and Baekhyun knew this is the consequences of not being able to talk for so long. He tried, to be honest. He tried talking but only a static of nothing came out from his mouth and he would sigh.

Now that he recovered his voice, a bit groggy and unsteady, he practices out his voice, trying to talk out more words and sometimes more than a sentence needed. He was successful of course, but his doctor reminded him not to force it too fast because his voice box might be damaged from too much force and he might he lose his voice again and he doesn’t want that at all.

The first time he hears his own voice, blurred memories of the past came back and he remembers Chanyeol from his younger years and such. All the memories that rushed back to him were good, but not all memories were recovered. There was a missing memory and he doesn’t know about it. He doesn’t know how much that memory was important and how it’s so important for the other person.

It was only a single piece.

A single piece of memory that would ruin everything.

He arrives at the park, panting a bit as he ran his way all over from the house. He stops by at the nearest bench he could find and settles on it, catching his breath in the process. Placing both of his hands on his jacket, he waits for Chanyeol to come.

He remembers the memories that they shared back then when they were young, the tears and laughters they created back then. He learned that Chanyeol was very important to him since he was young. They were after all the air that each other needs in their life. He learned that Chanyeol tries to help him regain his memories, asking him some questions that he found out confusing and weird back then. He learned that there is something with Chanyeol. He was quiet, reserved and not too loud nor talkative like he used too back then and he wonders. He learned so many things about Chanyeol throughout the days they spent together and found out that there is really something off from him.

And that’s why he agreed to meet up with him, because he needs to ask some questions to him also and he needs some answers from it. And due to the incident that had happened, meeting Chanyeol would have been a must. He swings his legs--just like back then-as he waits for Chanyeol to come before looking up to starry sky.

It was cold. The night was cold, too cold for Baekhyun’s liking, but he didn’t mind. He waits for Chanyeol to come because they agreed to meet up, anyways. Truly the younger would show up, right?

After a few minutes, he takes out his phone, pressing 1 on speed-dial and presses the phone on his ear. He waits for the younger to pick up his phone.

On the other side, back on Chanyeol’s home, the phone constantly rings in the empty room.

Back to the older, Baekhyun pouts a bit as to why the call isn’t being answered but then, he thought the younger might have left the house already and is on his way, forgetting his phone. Shrugging it off, Baekhyun pockets his phone back, swinging his legs again and waits for Chanyeol to come.

He waited and waited for the younger to come to the park until it was late morning already.

But Chanyeol never came.

Baekhyun returned later that morning around 4 in the morning back to the house with disappointed and confused feelings. Questions and vows circling in his mind.

That morning, the closet is open with no clothes, the bed is neatly arranged and some things are missing with the curtains are held up to the side neatly with its orange ribbon tying it, showing the rays of the sun enveloping the once dark room and giving warmth to it.

But it’s cold, even though it should be warm. The room is cold, so cold and empty.

The photo frame that contained Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s photo back then shines a bit due to the rays of the sun that gently caresses the picture, lighting up the room a bit more, it gave light to the abandoned phone and folded paper.

Chanyeol is gone.

破碎的承诺-Pòsuì de chéngnuò-Broken Promise

"Broken by the past, forgotten and burned, hopeless love of the forgotten shatters by the blindness."

Quite short, but 1742 words are okay, I guess?

And I have seen your mournings over Xiuchen. Yes, I'm deeply sorry about that.

The one who dies remains a mystery and will soon be revealed--if ever.

And now, Chanbaek for you! ^^

Yep......I know. I bet you know what the envelope contains now, huh?

Yeah...../gulps/

Bye! Chu <3

/returns to the place that never existed on earth since the hole has been found/