Before going where he needed to go, Chen went to his home first in order to change out of his school uniform. He didn’t like traveling long distances in uncomfortable clothes. After quickly changing, he dashed out of his house to catch the subway since it would take a long time for him to get to where he wanted to go. Before he left, he remembered to grab a picture of himself that was the most recent one in the house.

            It wasn’t like his house had a lot of pictures of him around. If he had to describe his house, he would say that they weren’t that many pictures in the house period. Chen didn’t know why and he never asked questions about it before. It was more like a don’t ask subject, not that it was forbidden, but just because it was the way that Chen grew up and frankly, he didn’t care.

           Hopping on the subway, Chen sat down at one of the vacant seats since not many people were going to go as far as him. It wasn’t very ideal to be traveling where he was traveling at that time of day considering that it took at least three hours to get there, making the time already six at night. Chen knew that he would have to stay the night somewhere, but decided to not tell Ellie that part since she would start asking dangerous questions.

            Slowly, Chen started to drift off to sleep because of the long ride and the lull of the subway. Somehow, the sound always soothed him when he was younger and it still did now. This was a trip that Chen was very used to taking and one that he took frequently, although it wasn’t so frequently anymore with his recent increase in studies and lack of time.

            Once Chen awoke, he realized that he had an hour left and spent the time just thinking in his thoughts. He found himself thinking about Ellie and what she would be doing after school now that Chen said that he couldn’t make it. Taking out his phone, Chen began playing with it and was slowly debating on whether or not he should call or text Ellie to make sure that she’s alright but was worried that that would send her the wrong impression. Chen didn’t want Ellie to know that he was starting to have a crush on her, that she started invading his thoughts like there was no tomorrow. He wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Then again, he wasn’t entirely sure of his feelings for her yet, but he figured that that was the direction that they were going in.

            Still, he wanted to know what was wrong with Ellie earlier that day and for the past couple of days. She was out of it and he saw it. He noticed how she looked like she was in deep thought and he could bet that she wasn’t thinking about him, but about something else. Was it about Kris? Was it about Jiyeon? Chen couldn’t be sure and he didn’t want to take inaccurate guesses either. He would just patiently wait until Ellie ever decided to confide in him and tell him what was wrong.

            After thinking for the rest of the hour, the subway came to a halt as it stopped at the stop that Chen needed to get off of. Slinging his backpack of clothes, snacks, and money on his back, he stepped out of the subway and breathed in the fresh air that he couldn’t breathe for a long time. A nostalgic feeling came over him as he stood on the platform before regaining his senses and started moving to find a taxi to take him to his destination. Chen was back for the time being and he wanted to make the most out of it.

“Luhan-oppa,” Ellie whispered as he still cried on her shoulder. All of that time spent with his mother, the laughter that they shared, the happiness that they felt together, it was now gone. Luhan would never be able to see his mother again. He would never be able to see her again or hug her or do anything. That feeling slowly hit him like a ton of bricks and he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

            “Ellie…she’s gone,” Luhan managed to say through his continuing crying. “Why? Why?”

            “I’m sure she’s in a better place,” Ellie said as she pat his back. She had never experienced someone close to her passing away so she didn’t know the feeling and she didn’t think she could provide good words of comfort, but she was trying her best. Despite her lack of experience, Ellie was doing her best to calm Luhan down as it seemed like the only thing to do.

            After who knows how long, Luhan finally stopped crying and was able to gather himself together to look at Ellie and force a small smile. “Thank you,” he whispered looking into her eyes with the utmost sincerity. He was glad that Ellie had been the one to come and comfort him, not that anyone else would. After the news of his mother’s death, his father had left, probably to get drunk somewhere, but he never returned. Luhan figured that it would be just like another one of his older brother’s disappearing acts. He was sure that he would never see his father ever again, now. Ellie’s presence made him calmer, though.

            “You don’t need to force yourself to smile if you don’t want to,” Ellie said placing both of her hands on his cheeks. “Don’t force yourself to be happy if you’re not, okay?”

            “Ellie, you’re the nicest person that I’ve met in a while, did you know that?”

            “No, I didn’t,” Ellie said chuckling a little. “I don’t think that I’m that nice.”

            “You are nice and I’ve met some not so nice people before. I’m glad that you’re here with me right now.”

            “Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out anyway,” she said smiling. “And I just happened to come over here now.”

            “Thank you. I’m grateful,” Luhan said once again as he hugged Ellie.

            “Hey, get yourself dressed, we should get you out of the house,” Ellie said as she got off of Luhan’s bed and started rummaging through his clothes.

            “What are you talking about going out now?” Luhan asked thinking that the idea was absurd. He didn’t feel like going out, not now. His heart wasn’t into it, but Ellie seemed to be having other ideas.

            “You can’t hold yourself up here forever. I understand that you’re hurting, but let’s go eat ice cream. Whenever my friend Jiyeon would experience a breakup or heartbreak, she would always cry over big containers of ice cream. Let’s go down to the local convenience store and get your favorite ice cream and bring it back here. We can both talk about our worries together.”

            “But that’s something that girls do,” Luhan said managing a laugh out of his mouth that sounded like a small choke on something, but at least it was some form of a smile.

            Ellie threw some clothes to Luhan and left the room so he could change and they could go out. She felt like she needed to do that for Luhan. She felt like she should do something for him rather than just sitting there and letting him cry on her. So, taking her experience from Jiyeon, she threw the idea out there and was going to go through with it no matter what. Ellie was sure that there were other feelings that Luhan was feeling other than the fact that his mother had passed away. There were probably other feelings that he was bottling up inside and Ellie hoped that he would at least say those feelings aloud while they were in a comfortable atmosphere together. It wasn’t like they were awkward with each other, but Ellie was sure that there would be other feelings that he might not be so comfortable in expressing to her.

            “I’m ready,” Luhan said as he appeared in the living room fully dressed and showered.

            “Then let’s go,” Ellie said giving a smile and grabbing Luhan’s hand.

Chen wandered through the neighborhood. He was already familiar with it, but somehow it seemed foreign. It seemed like forever since the last time he was there and he was sure that things have surely changed. Some of the neighborhood shopkeepers noticed him and remembered him and spoke with him for a couple of moments before they each had to go their own way.

            Walking through some of the backstreets, Chen finally found the house he was looking for and knocked on the door. “Coming,” a woman inside yelled, but Chen knew it all too well. He knew that she was probably busy with Minhyuk. “Oh, Jongdae, you’re here,” she said finally opening the door and seeing the boy standing there.

            “Noona, how have you been?” Chen asked going over and hugging her tightly.

            “I’ve been good, what about yourself?” she asked. “Before you answer that, come in, come in.”

            Chen entered the house behind her and took off his shoes before he took up residence in the living room with the little three-year-old running around. “Minhyuk-ah, hello,” Chen said to the little boy.

            “Hello,” he said bowing towards Chen. Minhyuk didn’t remember Chen, despite Chen always visiting when he was a baby. Chen was sure that the next time he came; Minhyuk wouldn’t remember him then either.

            “Chen, have you eaten yet?” she yelled to the living room from the kitchen.

            “Noona, I haven’t yet,” Chen yelled back to the kitchen.

            “Okay, I’ll bring out some food; just give me a couple of minutes.”

            “It’s alright, noona, just take as much time as you need.”

            Shortly afterward, she came back out with some food for the three of them to eat as Chen pulled out the table to set up on the floor. “Thank you,” she said.

            “Noona, you know that I’ll do anything for you. Minhyuk-ah, let’s eat,” Chen said grabbing the three-year-old and putting him in his lap to settle him down as he began feeding him some food before he fed himself.

            “Was the journey long?” she asked starting some light conversation.

            “It was as long as it always was,” he said with a smile. “Sorry for not visiting often enough, I’ll attempt to do that from now on.”

            “No need to apologize. You told me that you got into a better school, that’s awesome. How are your grades?”

            “They’re keeping up,” Chen said nodding his head as he continued feeing Minhyuk. “It’s a lot different than what I imagined, but it’s alright. I made some new friends, too.”

            “That’s good,” she said. She knew how much Chen didn’t like telling people about his family life, she knew everything about him, so she didn’t ask Chen to bring his friends over or ask much about them. She figured that they were his friends and that she would never meet them ever, so what was the point of asking about them?

            “Yeah and there are some annoying girls following me,” he said.

            “You should attempt to find a girlfriend,” she said.

            “Noona, you know that I could never do that,” he said looking at her.

            “You should still try,” she urged.

            “Noona, I have you and Minhyuk to look after, I don’t need anyone else. And I have no time for a girlfriend and you know how I don’t like it when they start asking about my personal life,” Chen complained.

            “Okay,” she said rolling her eyes at him. “You don’t have to look after us forever.”

            “Why not? I’m going to do it whether you say to or not.”

            “You’re such a stubborn kid,” she said looking at Chen, but Chen knew that she was only joking since she said it frequently whenever they brought up the subject. “I already told you a thousand times that you don’t need to worry about us anymore, yet you still make these trips. Are you planning on missing school again tomorrow?”

            “Yes, noona, you know me so well,” he said showing her a smile.

            “Aish, you know that I hate it when you do that,” she said leaning over the table and ruffling his hair.

            “It’s because you fall for it every time.”

            “But at least with your presence I’ll be able to get some things done around the house. Minhyuk has been acting up lately.”

            “Minhyuk-ah, have you been giving a hard time lately?” Chen asked turning the three-year-old around to look at him.

            “No,” Minhyuk said shaking his head.

            “Ah, someone’s lying, looks like punishment time,” Chen said as he began tickling Minhyuk causing him to have laughing fits.

            It was times like those that Chen enjoyed, just being able to experience a stress free life, different from one he experienced on a daily basis. He enjoyed spending time with the two people that he treasured the most in the world and he wouldn’t change it for anything.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who are the people that Chen is with? Why did Chen make the long journey? Will Ellie's method with Luhan work? Will Ellie and Luhan end up telling each other their worries?

Here is Chapter 11. Hope you enjoyed :D