Kris was leaning on the counter, laughing at some story Umma was telling about a patient who was convinced he was dying because the dye from his pants had turned his legs purple when his Kakao ringtone started, and he jumped, still not used to it. Umma chuckled, waving him off and telling him to come out for dinner soon. He was going to be allowed to go back to school the next day, which was honestly a huge relief - he felt like he hadn’t been in ages - so Umma was adamant that he and Lay have a good dinner to prepare.

Kris pulled his phone out, glancing at Luhan’s picture on the caller ID and laughing to himself before answering it.

“Ah, gege, what’s up?” Kris asked, starting to sit down in one of the chairs. He froze instantly when he heard the soft sound coming from the other end of the line though. He would know that sound anywhere. It was Tao, and he was crying. “Tao?” He said softly, his stomach knotting up and his chest feeling tight.

“I’m sorry.” He said immediately, and Kris hurried out of the kitchen, going to his room to talk in private. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t…I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have...”

“Kissed me?” Kris asked, his voice soft. Tao sobbed.

“I should have done that a long time ago. I shouldn’t have broken things off right after.” Tao said, sniffling and hiccuping at random.

“Well, it’s not like we were a thing, so it’s not like we broke up or anything.” Kris muttered, and Tao was quiet for a long moment.

“I wanted us to be.” Tao whispered suddenly, and Kris felt his heart pounding in his chest.

“Until you realized I was a loose canon and temporary?” Kris said, his voice shaking a little bit. He didn’t really feel like he was having a panic attack, but he was hurt, and he was beyond upset. “Until it occurred to you that kids like me don’t get happily ever after in any sense of the word, so you jumped ship?”

“Kris, please..” Tao whispered, his voice impossibly quiet. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well, what did you think was going to happen?” Kris snapped. “You can’t just do that and expect everything to be fine.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Tao said, his voice pleading. “God, I know, okay? I ed up. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have hurt you like that.”

“What do you want, Tao?” Kris asked quietly, swallowing hard. “Can you just tell me what you want from me so I know what I’m supposed to do? I can’t read people Tao. You know me. You know me better than...than probably anyone. You’re the one I stay up all night talking to. You’re the one who knows what I’m afraid of and what I stress about and what kind of books I read and you know me Tao. You knew what this would do to me.”

“Just like you know what you’re doing to me, right?” Tao whispered, his voice damp and quiet. “You know how guilty I feel, how easy it is to make me cry..you know, too.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kris whispered, pressing his hand to his forehead. “But I didn’t plan this out.”

There was silence for a long moment, too long, and Kris thought that Tao might have hung up on him. He pulled the phone away from his ear to look, but the call was still connected. He did his best to keep his breathing even as he felt tidal waves of emotion crashing through him, and now he was feeling anxious, he was feeling sick, he had a headache, and he didn’t need this.

“I..” Tao started, and was quiet again. Kris waited almost a solid minute before opening his mouth to speak again, but Tao beat him to it. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Kris could have sworn his heart stopped beating. He definitely stopped breathing, though he didn’t really process that until the dizziness hit and he in a sharp breath, trying to determine if he was panicking or just shocked. It was hard to tell, sometimes.

“Kris? C-could you say something? Please?” Tao asked, and Kris exhaled, trying to get his head back on straight.

“You’re in love with me?” Kris echoed back, not even sure what kind of emotions his voice held.

“Yeah.” Tao whispered. “I...I panicked, okay? I was dumb and I panicked and I...I shouldn’t have listened to Minnie. It’s a lot for me, okay?”

“Okay.” Kris breathed, his eyes wide as he tried to process everything. “Okay.”

“Are you...” Tao hesitated. “Do you...I mean...”

“I need to...think. Okay?” Kris said. “It’s a lot for me too. That’s...I don’t...say things like that lightly.”

“Okay.” Tao said, sniffling. “I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” Kris said. “Can we talk? Tomorrow? In person?”

“Oh.” Tao said, and there was a pause, but he sounded a little calmer when he spoke again. “Oh. Okay. Yeah.”

“Okay.” Kris said, swallowing. “I have to go eat dinner. I’ll...I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye.” Tao whispered, and the line went dead. Kris locked his phone and set it on the table beside the bed before laying down, his entire body feeling oddly weightless and numb. This was entirely too much.

It took Kris a while to compose himself enough to come out for dinner, but Umma was waiting with a smile. She took in Kris’ bitten up lip and slightly more awkward than usual demeanor and wrapped him up in a warm hug, kissing his head and ushering him into a seat.

“Come on now, this week is important. You need to keep your strength up.” Umma said, smiling at him. Kris blinked, tilting his head to the side.

“This week?” He asked, and Umma nodded.

“You have a couple of appointments on Friday.” She explained. “So you need to do as well in school for the next two days as you can, because you won’t be in on Friday.”

“Appointments? For what?” Kris asked, blinking. Umma looked at him with a raised brow, and he started eating to keep her happy. She smiled, taking a bite herself before answering.

“Well, you’ve got a check up at the doctors, and then an appointment with a cardiologist because the ER doctors were worried about your palpitations.” Umma said. “We’ve got a couple of other errands too, but those two are really the most important. Your health comes before anything else.”

“Umma...I’ve already missed so much school.” Kris said, half-pleading. Umma smiled softly and shook her head.

“It’s not negotiable this time. Besides, it’s only a half-day.” She said, and Kris nodded, not about to argue with her.

“Is Lay skipping too?” Kris asked, and Umma shook her head.

“Not this time. He’ll be home with everyone else, waiting for us.” Umma said. “We’re having Chinese takeout that night, though. Sound okay?”

Kris perked up immediately, nodding quickly. Chinese was his favorite, whether as a result of his childhood or just because he liked it, it didn’t really matter.

“Good. Now finish eating and put on a movie, you two need to relax for a little bit until bed.” Umma said, smiling at them both. “I have to go to work, but I’m going to trust you two.”

Lay smiled, giving a thumbs up, and Kris nodded. “We’ll behave.” He promised, and Umma chuckled.

“I know.”