The members decided on going home early and as it seemed, you really did go to work. They were half expecting you to suddenly decide to go back home, but as it turned out, you really weren’t there.

“[Oh dear, a time controller, huh?]” The members watched Professor through the hologram his beard in thought. To occupy their minds, the boys decided to talk business and finally got a hold of the oh-so-busy professor who couldn’t even answer his calls the past few days.

“It seems that he can only stop time. Whether or not he can go back or forward, we’re not sure” Suho added, unintentionally furrowing his eyebrows at the thought.

The professor hummed lowly, “[Well, it’s not like I didn’t see this coming…]” He sighed.

“But I don’t get it” Sehun begun, “Why weren’t we affected but Ji-Eun was?” He asked.

“[Your symbols are made of crimson-cynite. It could be possible that the cynite repelled against the magic used in time-control]” Professor explained with a sour expression on his face before glancing over to the male who was sat on the couch, “[Baekhyun, it was a great deed what you did but be careful next time]” He said, his eyes softening at Baekhyun. The said boy bit his lower lip and nodded, knowing that it wouldn’t be best to argue his point. His leg was surely healing, but not nearly as fast as he had hoped. And since that run, he feared that it might have gotten worse. Damn it, the cut must have been deep.  

“[That goes for all of you too. Even though you are to protect Miss Ji-Eun with your lives, I would prefer if all of you made it from this mission alive]”

“Understood, Professor” Suho nodded confidently before he shot Baekhyun a quick glance. Baekhyun shuffled in his seat uncomfortably at the leaders gaze before looking away.

“[Speaking of Miss Ji-Eun, where is she? Is she not with you?]”

The boys glanced knowingly at each other before they all sighed simultaneously.

Professor raised his eyebrows, “[What? Did something occur?]”

“She’s just been really sad lately” Sehun grumbled.

Professor continued to his beard, “[Is it because of what happened? With Xiumin?]”

“Maybe…But we’re not sure” Kai replied. There was a pause as everyone thought to themselves.

“[Where is she now?]”

“At her part-time job around the corner, she should be back any minute now” D.O answered.

 “[I see…Oh dear! Battery running low! Send Ji-Eun my regards!]”

“Wait! Professor!” Baekhyun suddenly shot up, surprising the members as well as the professor himself.

“[Yes, Baekhyun?]”

“Do you…happen to know how long this mission will last?]” Baekhyun asked. At his question, Kai peered over to the boy and scoffed inaudibly.

The professor pondered on the question, “[Well, it’s hard to say…but considering that the natural disasters have stopped, you’re doing pretty well so far]”

Without realizing, the members frowned. It seemed like good news, however, the better they were doing, the quick they’d get things done. And the quicker they got things done, the quicker they’d have to leave…not just here, but you.

“[However, as far as my hypothesis goes, you have much more problems and obstacles to encounter. EXO-M will do all that they can to get the Superiors to target you first. Whilst you’re dealing with EXO-M, remember that you also have the Superiors to look out for too]”

“Wow! That’s loads more work!” Sehun beamed to the members. The professor blinked at members, noticing the little smiles on their faces before realizing. He sighed with content. They don’t care about the problems…as long as they’re with her then they must be happy and willing to fight. No doubt about it. She’s the one.

“[See you boys! Remember to send Ji-Eun my regards]” Professor bid his farewell, his eyes turning into crescent moons because of his jolly smile.

“We will” Kai assured before the hologram disappears and Suho snatches the device to put back into his pockets.

A small sigh escaped Kai’s lips before he turned to the members, but most specifically- to Baekhyun; the boy who was now casually drinking a glass of water. Sooner than later, he caught Kai staring at him and paused “What?”

Kai shrugged, “Nothing…just wondering to myself…how you got Ji-Eun to survive under there for more than five minutes”

Baekhyun spluttered on his drink, startling the members before he felt a sudden rush of colour flush his face. The images from that day flashed in his head again; the feeling of your lips. The same images that had been keeping him up the past couple of days.

“Whoa, dude, are you alright? You’re bright red” Chanyeol asked, quickly hurrying over to Baekhyun to pat him in the back.

“Yeah *cough* I’m fine” Baekhyun nodded at the taller male, secretly attempting to calm himself down.

“Now that you mention it…you and Ji-Eun haven’t spoken much since then…” D.O added, curiosity and suspicious laced in his voice. He suddenly decided to sit beside Baekhyun before raising an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

The members all glared at Baekhyun, anticipating his answer whilst watching his face ripen into a tomato. “W-Why are you all looking at me like that?!”

Sehun narrowed his eyes at his hyung, “He stuttered!”

“He’s hiding something, Chanyeol, grab him” D.O commanded.

“Whoa! Wait! I’m injured- you can’t-“

Just before Chanyeol could grab hold of Baekhyun and pin him down, the bell downstairs ran, signalling that someone entered Latte Café. Everybody seemed to freeze on the spot before Chanyeol dashed to the staircase, “Ji-Eu…” Chanyeol froze when he realized it wasn’t you.

Rin stood by the door, her eyes widened curiously as to why Chanyeol was upstairs. “Chanyeol?” She called, trying to confirm that it was him.

Chanyeol gulped. , what do I do? She doesn’t know we live here! He turned to the others, searching for help whilst the boy’s just face palmed themselves and hid. Chanyeol stared at the leader, hoping for some ideas. Suho sighed at the poor giraffe before walking to the stairs. The moment he saw Rin, he shone her a bright smile, bright enough to be suspicious.

“Hello Rin-shi!” Suho greeted.

“Suho? What are you two doing up there? I thought it was D.O’s and Sehun’s shift today. Did Ji-Eun invite you over?”

“Y-Yes! Er, Chanyeol here needed some help with his homework. Ji-Eun was kind enough to offer him some help but later on realized that she had to go to work at the yogurt store I think it was so…here we both are until she comes back…you don’t mind do you?” Suho squeezed Chanyeols shoulder so hard that the other male fought back the urge to yelp.

The hiding members listened in, trying to be as quiet and as motionless as they could.

Rin tilted her eyebrows and chuckled, “The yogurt store is closed today though” She said.

The boys froze.

“It’s what?” Chanyeol and Suho said in unison, the fake smiles on their faces dropped almost immediately.

“Yeah, the yogurt store is closed until after Christ…” Rin’s smile also dropped. Christmas…that must mean… “Oh no” She murmured, feeling her heart drop at the realization. “I almost forgot” She said quietly.

The members peered at each other, their eyes wide with alarm. The same thing crossed their minds. If the yogurt store wasn’t open…then where were you?

…Could she…Baekhyun turned to face your desk and immediately, he knew his deduction was correct. Your guitar wasn’t there anymore.

 

“Do you hear me…I’m talking to you…Across the water, across the deep blue ocean under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying~”

You were sat down on the cement benches in the streets, a 25 minute walk from your neighbourhood, with you guitar case opened up in front of you like always, strumming away at your guitar nd letting the vapour escape your lips with every word you sung. There were more people walking around than you thought, probably because it was that time of year already and they wanted to get their shopping over and done with as fast as they could despite the freezing cold weather.

You continued singing, slightly bowing every so often when people decided to throw their spare change into your guitar case. You’ve only just realized how much you missed doing this. Ever since EXO-K came along, you haven’t been playing guitar much, nor have you been singing. Maybe because you were so busy with everything that you forgot how much you loved it.

How much your mother loved it.

“Boy, I hear you in my dream, I feel your whisper across the sea, I keep you with me in my heart, you make it easier when life gets hard~…”

You continued strumming on the same chord however stopped singing to think, but regretted it right after. You felt a lump forming at your throat and your vision started to blur because of the tears. Everything just seemed to be crashing down on you; all the emotions, all the thoughts, you were just binding together everything that’s happened in your life and pondering on it.

“Lucky I’m in love with my best friend~”

A sweet, harmonic voice sung out of nowhere, continuing where you left off. It surprised you slightly, hearing them sing from right behind you, but you went along with it, not even knowing who the person was.

“Lucky to have been where I have been~ Lucky to be coming home someday~” You harmonized and all of a sudden, you noticed people stopping in their tracks to listen.

“They don’t know how long it takes, waiting for a love like this, every time we say goodbye, I wish we had one more kiss, I’ll wait for you, I promise you, I’ll waaaiit~”

“Oooohahhhh~” The stranger adlibbed a beautiful falsetto, causing a smile to tug at your lips slightly.

“Lucky I’m in love with my best friend, lucky to have been where I have been, lucky to be coming home again~ Lucky we’re in love in so many ways, lucky to have stayed where we have stayed, lucky to be coming home someday”

You continued like this with the anonymous brilliant singer right until the song came to an end, earning a round of applause from the crowd you drew out. Almost immediately after the song ended, you twisted your neck around to finally discover who the mystery singer was.

The said person wore a hat and sunglasses, along with a black coat with a hood that covered up most of his face. But you could recognize that side profile from anywhere.

“Luhan?” You beamed, pleasantly surprised.

The boy tilted his sunglasses down to look at you before putting his finger up to his lips to tell you to be quiet. Nonetheless, he had the brightest smile on his face and you couldn’t help but laugh.

After putting your guitar away along with the large amount of money you’ve acquired (thanks to Luhan) you and Luhan decided on sitting in a little coffee shop just around the corner.

“I didn’t know you could sing” You said, grinning at him teasingly.

Luhan took off his cap, his sunglasses and everything that was covering up his glorious face now that both of you had taken your seats. It was safe since the there was no one in the café apart from you and a few employees.

You noticed Luhan’s heavy yet breath-taking make-up and you swore your heart skipped a beat. His blonde hair seemed freshly styles, tousled to one side and crimped. His skin was glowing, a beautiful pale and clear complexion that was complimented by his baby pink lips. His eyeliner was smudged out perfectly.

“I just believed that song was a duet” He chuckled, a little embarrassed. Luhan noticed you staring at him and cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing. “What? Is the make-up…”

“No! No…it’s…wow” You said, causing Luhan to laugh.

“Just came back from a photo shoot…excuse the attire” He said, “I’m surprised to see you around here though…Do the others know you’re here?” He asked as though he already knew the answer.

“Can you tell that they don’t?” You twisted your lips in thought.

“They wouldn’t let you wonder around alone” He said, “Did something happen?”

You scratched your head, “Well…no…I mean, maybe”

“Is this about Xiumin?”

Your eyes widened at him, “You know about that?”

Luhan shrugged, “I’d hate to admit it but I am one of them…” He said.

You nodded understandingly, “Well…I don’t know…it’s just…I’ve been feeling a bit…how do I put it?” You thought out loud, feeling a bit stupid that you couldn’t even string together a proper sentence. Luhan listened diligently anyway, wanting to hear what else you had to say. You glanced up to meet his concerned eyes and smiled, “I’m like this every December anyway…it’s not just the thing with Xiumin” You explained.

Luhan tilted his head slightly, showing that he was curious.

“It’s my mother’s death anniversary soon…” You sighed before continuing, “And on top of that…I guess you could say…I don’t know, I mean, what Xiumin said, if you could hear it-“

“You feel guilty?” Luhan hit the bull’s eye. You bit your lips and nodded. Luhans gaze softened at you before he chuckled. He reached over to you and ruffled your hair playfully.“Aigoo, this kid” He chuckled happily.

A smile played at your lips as a warm feeling in your chest spreads. This was a new side to Luhan, a very playful and caring side that you like to see. He’s so different from when you first met him.

“I wouldn’t worry so much about what Xiumin said” He advised. “They’re all like that, EXO-M…some more than others but you shouldn’t feel guilty about anything, Ji-Eun” He comforted.

“Yeah but-“ 

“It’s not your fault that they live the lives they’re living now…it’s their own fault for choosing to follow this path but they’re just too ignorant to admit it. He probably just wanted to wipe the blame on someone else, that’s all” His voice was soft as he spoke.

You thought deeply, “But…he looked so hurt…and he seemed so scared…I don’t know I just feel…bad”

Luhan sighed, “I’ve known Xiumin for years, I know what he’s like…like you said, he’s just scared, and he finds it difficult to put his trust in others. But he’s not a bad person, he just makes the wrong decisions sometimes and acts too rashly…All of us are like that actually” He chuckled lowly to himself, “We’re scared and desperate…but we chose to be like that. You, Ji-Eun, have nothing to do with it…and if you think about it in a different light, you’re the girl who can save us in the future”

You listened to him diligently, trying to soak in everything Luhan was saying. But everything just seemed so farfetched. This whole prophecy thing will never sink in and you just knew it. However…after hearing what Luhan had to say, you had to admit, you felt a lot lighter. Like a heavy boulder had been lifted from your chest. “I guess you’re right” You said, a graceful smile on your lips. “Thank you, Luhan”

He returned your smile with a sweeter one, “No problem” He said.

 

EXO-K all gathered in Latte Café as Rin was finally persuaded to explain what she knew. Although she knew that it wasn’t her story to tell, and she felt wrong about doing it, but the boys were just worried and how could she turn them all down?

She explained to them how your mother passed away right before Christmas and since then, every December around this time, you’d go into depression mode. Rin told them about the time when you almost got ran over because you weren’t watching where you were going on the road and she almost had a heart attack.

“No wonder she seemed so down lately” Chanyeol pouted. “Poor Ji-Eun…”

Rin sighed, “I know…She’s endured so much yet she’s still so bright. If only there was something to cheer her up”

“Have you ever tried?” Kai asked her.

Rin nodded, “Junpei and I try every year but it never worked. It was much worse when she was little but still…” She peered over towards the boys and an idea suddenly popped up in her head. She smiled mischievously. “Buuut~ That doesn’t mean that you guys can’t do it!”

“What do you-“

All of a sudden, a ringing could be heard and EXO-K flinched at the sound. Rin burying her hand into her pockets and reaches out her phone. “Oh! Sorry, I have to answer this” She said before getting up and answering the phone whilst walking off into the store cupboard.

EXO-K just watched her until she disappeared before turning to each other.

“How do we cheer up Ji-Eun?” Sehun asked, once again looking at the leader for answers.

“I’m not that good with things like this though, with girls that is” Suho scratched his head.

“Should we buy her something?” D.O suggested.

“And with what money?” Kai shot down.

“Yeah, Ji-Eun’s already in enough debt as she is because of us” Baekhyun added.

“Then what should we do?” Chanyeol sighed, frustrated.

D.O massaged his temples, “Let’s think…what cheers up troubled teens from this dimension?”

There was a pause as everyone just gave it a thought.

Suho let his eyes wonder around the café, trying to look for inspiration when it finally hit him. He spotted the store just opposite and a smile formed at his lips just at the thought. Laughter is the best medicine after all. “Boys, here’s our next approach!”   

 

---

[A/N: Not edited but, what's this? A double update?! =[]= ahahaha, i know it's a miracle. But hey- MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR AND OMG YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST I LOVE YOU ALL! *hugs*]