Chapter 6:

Baekhyun got up early the next day and began warming up. Neither Zhou nor Li had explained what their task for the day was, and though they might not start sparring immediately, it was best to be ready. There was nothing to lose, except maybe a few more minutes of sleep. Their beds just seemed so comfortable that Baekhyun himself, who had prided himself in being disciplined as a result of Wu Shu, found it difficult to get up.

He found it odd as well that none of them had roommates. They all stayed on the same floor with neighboring rooms, but no one had a roommate, not even Sungmin and Siwon.

"Morning, Baekhyun!" he heard someone call him as he got out of his room. The voice belonged to Anne, but behind her was Kris, and coming out of their own rooms were Tin, Aze and Bry. They all greeted him as well.

"Morning," he replied to all of them. "You're all up early."

"Yeah," Tin shrugged.

"Did you sleep well?" Anne asked.

"Far too well I felt like I didn't want to get up," Baekhyun replied. "You?"

"Same," she replied sheepishly. "The bed was just so comfortable."

"I think we all did," Bry said. "But either way, we're all here now, and we're all up, so let's go do this!"

They all laughed in agreement.

"Why don't we check if Siwon and Sungmin are up yet?" Aze suggested. "I think it'd be an even more pleasant surprise for the Geges that we're complete."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Baekhyun agreed.

They went and did just that. They had to wait for a little bit before they could go down because the two had to get ready for the day, and as they did so, they unconsciously bonded. Them, with their imperfect Chinese, decided on having a conversation to get to know each other, and they learned that Baekhyun was the only one among his group of friends who learned Wu Shu. However, it wasn't a hindrance, for they openly supported him and often even watched him perform so that he could get rid of his stage fright, as Wu Shu was not purely self-defense, it was also a very decorative art. They learned as well, that he knew how to dance, though he stated that he was a marginal dancer compared to his friends.

"Marginal? That doesn't matter! At least you can dance. You all dance. Only Bry knows how to dance, and even then..." Aze said, trailing off to allow Bry to fill it in however way he wanted.

"Okay, Aze, I'm sorry. I at dancing, okay? Geeze, no need to rub it in," Bry said, sending them all laughing.

During breakfast, a young man, someone around Baekhyun's age, took up a mic and greeted everyone.

"Hello, everyone. I am Tao, and I am the main host of this event," he said. "I officially welcome all of you to this event, and I hope to see you all excel. I would like to remind you all that the moment you stepped on Chinese grounds, the competition has officially begun. Whoever presents undesirable outlook or conduct shall immediately eliminated from the contest. For the time being, at least, they are not worthy to be called students of Wu Shu, an art of beauty and discipline. And first on the list is tardiness. Be reminded, tardiness is not accepted unless you are lost or you are sick, and only your team heads may attest to the validity or falsity of those. Note that your team heads are on your side, but they will not lie; our craft is one of honesty. Cheating, lying, and any other conduct along those horrid lines are not acceptable.

"And so, as such, those people who were initially part of your teams, but cannot be seen here right now are instantly eliminated. They will be asked to go home. The only instructions that have been sent to you all last night was to assemble here at this time for a briefing. We may have been lax for half an hour today, but the doors have been closed, and that means that they are late beyond pardon.

"In line with the competitions, there will be referees, all capable and well-trained members of our military, so if fights are to break out, they are more than capable of breaking it up. Along with the acknowledgement of at least two team heads, those involved in the fight will be eliminated from the competition. We are all educated men and women, and if you deem yourself uneducated, then at least we are all disciplined, and respect our fellows. Wu Shu exercises camaraderie, for both friend and foe, so personal grudges are not accepted. Everything must be settled with clear thinking.

"Every now and then, there will be teachers from different schools that will observe you in your fights. If they find you admirable though your abilities are not yet up to par, they may still offer you entrance to their schools, and there be trained in the skill. Though do not think much of that, since few pass the standards of masters.

"Your team heads are there to help you. They can assist you in training or team building or even with your personal woes, if you wish. They have agreed to that. Each team is assigned to a team head that can speak the native tongue of the members. Participants, I implore you to listen and obey your team heads; they have only your well being in mind. Also, I believe it would be in your best interest to stay together with your teams.

"With those things in mind, I hope you enjoy your day. The first spars will begin at 1300 hours. For further questions, you may ask your team heads. Thank you."

Though Tao was obviously a kid like them, he had the air of someone of power, someone who really knew what he was doing. He, unlike them, was standing at a position of power, and none of them could deny that. Tao's orders were to be followed, if not because they were rules laid down that went along with common sense, then because he looked like he could kick serious .

Baekhyun looked around and noticed that a quarter of the tables that had been set were empty, and he realized that the far too comfortable beds were placed there as a test. He would not be sleeping on it tonight, lest he wake up late tomorrow. If he was going down, then he would go down in a fight.

~°~

"Was that really necessary, Tao?" Kris asked as Tao slipped out of the hall.

"Better get things straight than cause misunderstanding," Tao shrugged. "One of them may also end up under my wing, Kris. I cannot afford for a student to burden my responsibilities toward Lu Han. You know that."

"I know," Kris replied with a sigh. "Why does it have to be so hard?"

"I don't know either. Maybe we're even making things harder on ourselves, but for safety precautions..." Tao reminded. "Let's just hope nothing goes wrong."

~°~

"What do you want to be?" Lu Han asked. "I mean, what is it that you hope to achieve by going to college?"

"I hope to get a diploma and get a good job," she replied. "And when I get a good job, I hope to live well."

"That's it?" he asked, fiddling with a rock but training his eyes on Yoona.

"What do you mean? What else is there?"

"Somehow, it is like saying that there is nothing more to life than struggling," Lu Han said. "You go through all that then you die in the end. Is that all life is?"

"No, there's more. I mean, you get to fall in love and you get to have fun. You gain friends and you spend time with them."

"Do you believe in love? Not the kind that Seohyun feeds you with. Do you believe in it on your own? With your heart?"

"I think so. I mean, I see my parents every day, and I see that even if they do bicker every now and then, they don't find too horrid a fault in each other. It's forgivable."

"But that could also be duty."

"What?"

"My parents... I have never seen them fight, not at all, but I know my father did not love my mother, and neither did my mother love my father. Perhaps they both loved me, but they never really learned to love each other. Even to her last breath, they never did."

"I'm so sorry," Yoona muttered. Hearing of his pain, listening to him speak of something other than believing in something and trusting in something good…hurt her. It was like blindly thinking that everyone's always okay, and no one’s always okay.

It wasn't even a case of her thinking that there was something wrong with him because he was always so bubbly or that he was always so sad. Lu Han had shown her a myriad of emotions but none of them were to that depth. None of them showed her his sufferings.

"What's there to be sorry about?" he asked. "My mother, though she did not love my father, she lived well. She always told me that there are things in life that we can have and things that we cannot have, and she thinks that loving her husband may not have been one of the things that she was to receive, and she took it well. She did her duties as his wife and he did his duties as her husband.

"I'm not saying that I believe that families are shallow or anything, I'm just saying that maybe one can go through life without falling in love. That friends can be limited in number, but even with limits, it bears a lot of fruits. Yoona, please understand, I do not come from a similar background with you. You may have to elaborate more for me to understand," he said.

"Hmm... I don't know, really. I've never been in love, so I don't really know what love is. Love for someone you're not related to, I mean," she explained.

"I see. So we are both floundering with that concept, then?" he asked with a laugh. "But I guess it's one of those things that you get to learn about when it's staring at you in the face. Let's just face it when it gets here, shall we?"

"Yes. Let's," she agreed.

~°~

“And so, I met my new neighbor,” Seohyun said as she talked to Yoona over the computer. Thank God for Skype!

“You have a new neighbor or you’re the new neighbor?” Yoona asked teasingly.

“Fine. I am the new neighbor,” she replied with a laugh. “And I never would have expected.”

“That…?”

“I met him at the park, actually. He’s the son of our neighbor. Remember I told you about them? I told you their son was overseas, and they were there.”

“Oh, so we’re not really talking about your neighbor but about their son!” Yoona exclaimed.

“Yoona!” Seohyun said exasperatedly.

“Okay, okay, I get you,” she said. “So you finally met the elusive son of your neighbors. Is he nice?”

“He was really nice, Yoona. I met him in the park when I was studying. It turns out I was sitting on the bench that he normally goes to when he’s around.”

“You stole his spot?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I didn’t mean to, I just did. No one sat on that bench when I went there for the first time, and no one’s been sitting there ever since, so I went and sat down. It’s not my fault park benches are public property, you know.

“So while I was reading something, this huge shadow decides to block out my light and viola! There’s this dude standing in front of me offering me a can of coffee.”

“Well that’s weird,” Yoona commented. “It’s rare a stranger would give you coffee. I mean, it’s strange that a stranger would give a stranger a can of coffee.”

"But he didn't know who I really was, so there's no doubt that I was a complete stranger to him at that time."

"So how did you know?"

"His parents invited us over for dinner, and he was the one who opened the door for us. He was quite shocked, you should've seen his face! Oh, Yoong."

"He seems to have really charmed you," Yoona mused.

"I suppose it does seem that way, doesn't it? But the thing is, he was just such a warm person that you wouldn't be able to help it," she said. "Oh, and he knows Korean."

"But I thought you said your neighbors were Chinese?"

"Cantonese," Seohyun corrected. "But yeah. Well, apparently, he studied Korean, and he speaks it well. And you know the weird thing?"

"No, what?"

"He's a '90-liner, but he's already working."

"I thought you said he was an international student?"

"I thought so, too. Actually, I assumed it to be the case. His parents always said he was in China and that he was our age... Wouldn't you have assumed that as well?"

"I would. I mean, why would his parents ship him to China to work when he still doesn't have a degree? Not to mention that they're not exactly poor to need the extra income," Yoona commented. "Isn't that child labour? He's still likely to be 17."

"He is 17," Seohyun stated. "But they said something about it being something like an apprenticeship. He won't get a diploma, but he's going to be a shoe-in for the job. I dunno, they kind of lost me at 'working'."

"Oh, Seo," Yoona sighed. "Oh well. He sounds like he's your new best friend already."

"No one can replace you, Yoong," Seohyun assured her. "Besides, he just stayed here for a week before he went back to China."

"Oh."

"And his name was Kris."

~°~

The week was finally over, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. He had made it through the cut-off in one piece. His friends, on the other hand, were not all so lucky. Siwon had gotten cut during the third day of the competition. Tin, Kris and Anne had gotten cut just yesterday. Anne had taken a bad tumble and aggravated an old injury. To prevent further injury, she was cut from the competition, which she accepted with a positive disposition. Kris had volunteered to help her with her things and voluntarily dropped herself from the competition.

"Why?" Baekhyun asked while the two were packing their stuff.

"It's nothing personal, Baekhyun. It was great to have come here, met you guys and participate in such an epic competition, but I can't just leave Anne hanging," she explained. "This experience is enough for me. Besides, the person I was last up against was Anne. I feel responsible."

"But aren't you guys teammates?"

"This is a competition between individuals, Baekhyun. Don't be fooled," she said. "It's another trick."

"So many tricks," he muttered dejectedly.

"You can do it, Baekhyun. Aze and Bry might still be in the running, but we'd root for you, too. There isn't going to be just one winner. Keep your eyes peeled and your wits ready; you might need it."

"I think I will," he replied.

"God bless you, Baekhyun," Anne said, giving him a hug. "This isn't life and death, but keep your eyes peeled if you want to get to the top. They're really weeding people out."

"Thanks," he replied.

"Well, we gotta go. I guess we'll see you around. You've got our emails, so just email us if you're ever in the Philippines!" Kris said.

"And if any of you are in Korea," he added.

"We will. See you!"

Baekhyun sent his friends off, leaving him with a dreadful feeling. There was something that he had missed that they seemed to know, and whatever it was, they were trying to tell him. He could almost swear that they were forbidden from telling him directly, but it could also have been simple warnings and words of encouragement. All of them had become quite paranoid over the course of the week because of the stress and Tao's words, which seemed to echo in his brain with an eerie vibe.

"Welcome!" Tao greeted as he stepped in front of the remaining contestants. There were 49 of them. "I'm glad that all of you here are well, and that you made it this far. Congratulations! Out of the thousands that entered the contest, there's only you left. I hope you realize your achievement.

"Today is, unfortunately, the last day that you will spend with your team heads, as from this point on, there will no longer be such a thing as teams. From today onwards, all of you will be competing on your own. It is best, I think, if you learn the language of the masters, so that you will not have difficulties when you return.

"I shall see you in three months' time. Until then, we all hope that you will sharpen your skills and train hard. We expect much from you, as from any learner of Wu Shu. You have shown us what you can withstand, and we hope you will show us what you can do and what you're really made of. See you all soon," he said, and sauntered off the stage to who knows where, leaving the contestants to try and decode his words.

~°~

"Tao, really? Why were you so scary?" Lu Han asked. He seemed childish today, perhaps because he had to skip his nap in order to finish the paper work he had to finish.

"Please understand, Prince Lu Han," Tao said. They were in public, and Tao cannot be caught being friendly with Lu Han. It would sound like insubordination. "It's best keep them on their toes or fail them all! The masters will not approve."

Lu Han smiled a bitter smile. "Still? When will they ever change? Tao, when will you join the ranks of masters? Surely, you are skillful enough."

"I cannot," he replied. "I am assigned to you, and my sole duty is keeping you safe. I share the task with Lay, but I cannot have a divided attention."

"Such a waste. You would be a good master," Lu Han said.

"But what would you prefer?" Kris asked as he and Lay joined them. "That Tao be a master and you be chained to someone whose idea of your welfare is simply for you to be alive?"

"That might be better," Lu Han replied. "At least the outside world will change."

"Come, now. Tao cannot change the world. It would be best if the change came from a man of power and position, not a monk. A man like you," Kris said.

"Kris," Lay hissed. "I do not think that you should be talking to our Prince in this manner."

"Let him be, Lay," Lu Han said. "I appreciate his words. They make me a better man."

"Prince Lu Han, I hope you take no offense," Lay said. "But I think that you still need to be cautious. We have no magic, walls have ears."

"Let them be," Lu Han said once more. "They can do nothing to me. I am their Prince."

But they can do something to those around you, Lay thought, but saying those words would burden his friend, not encourage him.

Lu Han walked with his friends, as Kris began rattling the things that Lu Han had to do that day, and the most important thing, the one that had stopped him in his tracks, was the one about meeting.

"What sort of meeting is that, Kris?" he asked, his eyes unconsciously narrowing.

"I don't know," he replied, as though the weight of the world was suddenly on his shoulders, and the others stiffened. Kris would only speak this way if...

"Is that it? It is, isn't it?" he asked.

"The possibility is high, Lu Han. You are eighteen. No one told me, but by the sound of your father's secretary's words," Kris explained. "I can only pray to Heaven that I made a mistake."

"Heaven, no!" Lu Han quietly screamed. "Please, no!"

"Prince Lu Han, are you alright?" an elderly man asked. He had a mop of black hair and still looked quite youthful despite his age.

"Master Chen Long," Tao and Lay said as they bowed a greeting to the elder.

He smiled a fatherly smile at them and redirected his gaze upon Lu Han. "There must be something wrong for you to speak that way. Tell me, I may have a solution."

"Master Chen Long, I don't even... For sure... It's... I... Confused," Lu Han sighed. He couldn't piece things together into a coherent sentence for the master to understand, yet he seemed to understand.

"I think I understand what you mean," he said. "Is this about your meeting with your father?"

"Yes," he sighed.

"Do not fret. Your father only has your best intentions in mind, young prince, and I doubt he would ask you to do anything that is against your will," he said, explaining to Lu Han what runs in the mind of fathers. "If you have any worries, approach your father. He is your father, and if you have trouble understanding him, I am sure that the masters will be able to help you out. Or perhaps even young Tao or young Lay, here! They have certainly spent much time with older people, fathers expecially, that I think they can understand both sides of the spectrum one way or another.

"Young prince, it warms my heart to see that you worry about the kingdom and that you have grown up well, but the burdens are not your alone to carry," Master Chen Long said before walking off.

He had lots to do, and Lu Han was always grateful to the old man; he took his time to speak to Lu Han, as in really speak to him to hear his joys and sorrows, whether they were spoken or not, and help him. He was like a second father to Lu Han, the same man that had brought Tao to him.

Master Chen Long was once a monk, which accounted for his demeanor. He was serene yet firm, sometimes even fun, when the others would be hard-faced, unyielding and deaf. Probably it was the training they received from the military, the need to obey orders unquestioningly, but the other half of Chen Long's life, if not more, was spent in the military, serving the king both as a guard and as an adviser. He was like Kris, Tao and Lay all rolled into one for Lu Han's father.

"...Lu Han...?" Lay called. Master Chen Long was gone by now, but Lu Han was still absorbed in his thoughts.

"What was that?" he asked, snapping out of his daze.

"Your meeting," Lay reminded.

"Yes, meeting," he muttered. "Lead the way!"

"Kris...?" Lay probed.

"It's not until later; the Emperor has things to attend to," Kris said with a shake of his head. He offered Lu Han a smile. "Would you like to take a nap now?"

"Am I five?" Lu Han asked.

"You've always loved naps," Kris simply shrugged.

~°~

Falling asleep was always something he loved, whether or not he would be able to go to his little haven. That is, if he got enough sleep. If he was disturbed, he'd have a bad disposition, and no one liked to see that.

It takes half an hour, at the least, to get him into his normal disposition, and when he was back to normal, he wouldn't even be able to remember what he did or what he said when he was cranky. It was like being drunk, only without the alcohol.

If Lu Han was sleepy, but he had yet to sleep, he wasn't cranky as he would be if he was woken up unexpectedly. Rather, it would seem like his brain had melted, gone into oblivion, and he'd be spouting nonsense, or laughing like crazy. Though everyone knew he was laughing not because something was funny, nor was he mocking anything, he was simply laughing at himself, his silliness and his sleepiness. An odd reason to laugh, but when you're brain is running without enough sleep, you don't really think of why you're laughing anymore. You just do.

The four boys sat together at a table, staring at each other. Well, it was more like Kris, Tao and Lay were staring at Lu Han while Lu Han was trying hard not to fall asleep.

"You're sleepy aren't you?" Kris asked, raising a brow. They'd stopped working the moment they realized they'd lost Lu Han's concentration.

"No! I am not," Lu Han replied, but his words were a bit slurred.

"I'm going to kick you if you lie to me," Kris threatened. He might not kick as hard as the other two, but the momentum his leg gets is enough to ensure at least a small degree of pain.

"No you're not, no you're not!" he sang, as a child would when he or she is mocking someone.

"So help me I will-"

"Let's just knock him out already!" Lay complained. "Geeze. Why does he want to stay up? His brain's all muddled."

"Aaiiii can heeeaaaar you!"

"Please. Please, please, please, Kris! Tao and I will do it painlessly. Lu Han won't even remember he asked us to keep him awake. He won't even feel it."

"He's going to kill me when he wakes up."

"We'll knock you out, too, and pretend that you fell asleep on the job!" Lay suggested.

"Me? Fall asleep on the job?" Kris asked, as if he had just been asked the most absurd question in the world.

"It's a conspiracy, then. Lu Han's not even that much older than you; it's just roughly half a year."

"Lay," Kris said threateningly. Though how he plans on carrying out the threat was a question unanswerable.

Lay had mastered Wu Shu, much like Tao, only at a slower pace, whilst Kris was (so far as their lessons had shown) a master of tongues. How much damage could he possibly do? Kris did not even like to use degrading words, though he knew them. He regarded them with disdain, and thought of those that used such words as uneducated, barbaric and downright stupid. After all, no real educated man would use such words. Education was meant for building up, and anyone who does otherwise was not worthy to be considered educated.

"Too late, he fell asleep," Tao commented. He had kept his mouth shut the whole time, his gaze trained upon Lu Han.

"Oh well," the other two shrugged.

"I can always blame Lay," Kris shrugged as Lay shrugged, "I can always say we forgot."

"You guys," Tao sighed, placing his head onto the table and drifting off to dreamland.

~°~

"Yoona," Lu Han called. "Fancy meeting you here at this time."

"Why?" she asked.

"It's still quite bright in the waking world," he mused. "Busy, busy people."

"Actually, I had to sleep in the real world," she said.

"Real world?" he asked. "Yoona, this is an extension of reality. You just happen to be sleeping for you to be here."

"How can this be real?" she asked. "This place is always the same, more or less."

"Is it really?" he asked. "It doesn't seem the same to me today. Today, it's a lot brighter. Though my eyes may be deceiving me. They have a knack for it, which is why I tend to need Kris reminding me of what I'm looking at.”

“What?” she asked, laughing.

“At least that’s when my brain is muddled. He’s better than I am at staying up. I swear, he has a gift,” he muttered. “Do you feel better?”

“What?” Yoona asked, taken aback by the question.

Lu Han laid his hand on her forehead. “You’re sick, aren’t you? I hope you’d take better care of yourself, Yoona. It’s not fun to be sick.”

“How do you know? In here, I feel fine,” she insisted.

“Here?” he asked, gesturing to the place they were in. “Or here?” he asked, gesturing towards his heart.

“What kind of question is that?” she asked.

“I find that the heart has its own way of saying things, you know? You don’t know it, but when it’s trying to tell you something, you’ll feel it. I’m not saying that love equals lust that kind of thing, but the heart… It’s really different. When you’re at your limit, it gives you strength, and you realize that even if your body can’t, your will can. But when your heart says, ‘Don’t go further’, your body gives in, and you can’t do anything about it. That’s just the way it is,” he replied.

“So you’re basically telling me that my heart is against me?” she asked.

“Not all the time. I just know that your heart is trying to tell you something because, well, I do. I’ve been coming to this place for years; it just makes sense that I actually learn something from it, won’t it?”

“Yeah, it would,” she replied. “I just wish I knew what it was saying.”

“If things were that easy, then we’d have no problems,” Lu Han reminded with a laugh.