*secundus renascentia: second rebirth

Jongin eyed Sehun groggily as Sehun stirred something in his cup. The last bit of drunkenness has ebbed away, thanks to Sehun forcing him to sleep until the next day, and now, it is night-time again. He was still having headaches, but it was better than last night.

"Jongin-sshi, I made you tea." Sehun murmured nervously as he laid the cup in front of him. Jongin only looked at him curiously. Sehun gulped. "Do you not like tea? T-that's alright, I'll make you something else..."

Before he turned his back, however, Jongin grabbed his wrist. "There's no need for formalities... I... like tea."

Sehun looked behind him, sighing. "It's alright... just... please tell me, how did you end up drunken like that in the streets, Jongin-sshi?"

Jongin pouted. "I told you to not use formalities! Or else I'll really be drunk like last night-"

Sehun threw his hands up in the air. "Fine then! Jongin-ah, how did you end up in the streets last night?"

Jongin muttered something that Sehun couldn't really catch. He was looking down, like he was ashamed of that thing, the thing that caused him to give up on alcohol. Sehun blinked, then sat on the couch opposing him. "I didn't hear that. Explain."

Jongin looked at him, his face rather suggesting something dark. "I'd rather not talk about it," he said quietly.

Sehun pouted. God, this boy is too cute, even if he's already... wait... what is his age...? Jongin thought, looking at him.

"Sehun-ah, what is your age?" Jongin asked, beaming. Sehun could not believe this person. He face-palmed, sighing. "Answer, or else I'll really be drunk again, Sehun-ah." Jongin threatened him sharply and began shuffling from the couch.

"Ah! Jongin-ah! Wait- Okay, my age is 18." Sehun said, grabbing his arms. Jongin snapped his head back, his eyes wide in shock. Sehun only made the stubborn boy sit and made him sip his tea. "I know I look very old from my appearance, but seriously, I am."

"Old?" Jongin blurted out as he choked on his tea.

"Yeah, old." Sehun murmured regrettably.

"Who told you you're old? You don't even look old," Jongin asked skeptically. Sehun shook his head. "You don't look old," Jongin forced harder. "Come on, believe me."

"Good night." Sehun abruptly said, lifting himself up.

"Ah, hey, wait up, Sehun-ah-" 

Sehun only flicked the lights off and closed the door. Jongin pouted. "Night, Sehun-ah." He said bitterly.

Sehun blinked his eyes rapidly. He groaned, feeling miserable. I feel so sorry to Jongin-ah, he thought, sighing. He gently lifted himself out from the bed, feeling sore. Why am I feeling like this?

He sloppily walked out of his room and dragged himself to the guest room. He carefully pushed the door open, not wanting to disturb the person inside it. He lived alone, thank goodness. He was visiting his parent's house when he first communicated with Tao.

The bed was empty and clean. The room breathed fresh, not like the last time he was here. It smelled of alcohol.

Jongin-ah. Jongin-ah, where is he?

Sehun panicked, wrenching the door open again. He stalked around his house. It was big, alright. After all, his parents spoiled him. But he wasn't a spoiled child. He does not want to spoiled.

Jongin-ah. Jongin-ah, if you're drunk again and you end up dead, it's not my fault, Sehun silently cursed.

He stopped dead in his tracks when a sharp pain formed on his wrist. He gritted his already chattering teeth. It felt pain... but on the same time it was something to be proud of. Happiness surged his whole body, even though he didn't know what caused it. The pain slowly disappeared, then all of the sudden, it vanished.

He blinked, temporarily forgetting something important. He cautiously lifted his left arm, where the pain had been felt. There was something on the inside part of his hand... a symbol.

His symbol.

He yelped. His powers finally came back to him. Oh god. Tao, you can't possibly know what I'm feeling right now. Holy shot. Holy. Efffin-

But then his head snapped back. Jongin-ah. Where the hell is Jongin-ah?

He sprinted to the kitchen, hoping to find him eating toast and smiling sheepishly at him. But Jongin was not there. Ruffling his hair, he scanned the room. That was when he noticed a note that was stuck on the fridge. Sehun quickly snatched it.

Sehun-ah,

I know that I'm being a pain in the for you. It's okay, it was my fault for being drunk in the first place. I am extremely grateful when you brought me into your house. I'm leaving. I went out from the concealed unlocked window on the back of your house. I hope we meet again, soon. I hope we will be proper friends by then.

- Kim Jongin

"THIS KID IS UNBELIEVABLE!" Sehun roared. "DID HE THINK THAT BY RUNNING AWAY FROM MY HOUSE WOULD MAKE ME FORGIVE HIM?! I'M COMING FOR YOU, YOU DIMWITTED, -"

He continued cursing, stomping towards his room in fury. He didn't notice that the butterfly was following him silently, with Tao's squeaky voice coming out from it. "Sehun, Sehun..."

"Idiot, moron, stupid..." Sehun continued to murmur hotly, stuffing the note in his backpack. "He didn't even tell me his number, this unbelievably stupid man-"

"OH SEHOON!" Tao roared. "SNAP OUT OF IT AND LISTEN TO ME, WILL YOU?!"

Sehun froze, not knowing the butterfly had been following him. He gulped. Tao snarled.

"Good. Now you're following me. Okay. I'm sorry for yelling to you. It's just- It's important. Really, awfully, terribly important."

Sehun only nodded timidly.

"Did you get the tattoo? Our symbol?"

"Yes. I did. It means we have our powers back. That's all?" Sehun raised his eyebrows. He can hear Tao scoff.

"Not just that. I can remember Lay's face."

Sehun blinked. He... remembers one of the EXO's faces. The warm smile, the hearty laugh, the gentle eye-smile...

"Baekhyun." Sehun whispered to the butterfly, eyes bulging out. "Tao, they awakened."

"Your name is Zhang Yixing."

The boy shook his head furiously, snarling. "No. My name is Lay."

"Your name is Zhang Yixing. Zhang Yixing. Yixing." The man said, body trembling. "Why did you say your name is Lay, my son?"

"BECAUSE I AM!" The boy snapped. "ZHANG YIXING IS NOTHING BUT A MERE EXISTENCE! AND YOU CAUSED IT!" he said, jabbing his finger hard on the man's chest. "YOU SENT HIM INTO THIS ASYLUM, DIDN'T YOU?! YOU KNEW HE WAS FINE, THAT HE WAS NOT INSANE, BUT YOU BRIBED THE ASYLUM, DIDN'T YOU?!"

The man only whimpered. "Yixing... please... I'm sorry... You'll go out from here when you're done pretending to be this Lay person, okay? We'll live together again. We missed you so much-"

"Liar." Lay said coldly. "Liar."

The man screamed when Lay begin choking him. His wife clutched his hand, screaming his name. She got up to Lay, and then slapped him on the cheek, making his face red and raw.

The silence was dominating. Lay released the man, frozen in place. The woman only could huff and stare at him coldly. "We were right." she said, scoffing. "You are insane."

Lay could only stare at her as she dragged her husband who was whimpering. She was hugging him and sobbing in his chest. "I didn't know we raised such a monster," was her whisper. He blinked, and then put up his fist on the air for her. "Watch your mouth, woman." She doesn't even know half what I've been through here. She only glared at him.

Lay could only sit on his bed. Tao. He closed his eyes. He could only remember him. Those defined jaw lines, his geeky smile, his Wushu skills... Lay could only sigh. He could never go out from this place. Others thought of him as an insane person, when he was not.

You're not insane. Don't worry, Lay, I'm going to get you. I'm going to drag you out from there.

Lay could only blink when that familiar voice was heard in his head.

Tao could only jog, wheezing. For most people, they wouldn't be able to jog anymore. He thanked his father for forcing him to learn Wushu. It made his body more capable than several other people. His head snapped back to the list in his hands. List of Asylums in China. He gritted his teeth. Please, Lay, don't be too far from me.

He continued to run, more determined than ever. If this is the last thing that I can do, then be it.

He almost slipped the next Asylum in the list. Panting, he entered the building. It was dark and gloomy. The other Asylums before this was bright and inviting, and looked like a normal hospital. Not for this one.

He entered the building. The door creaked, and then several shrieks of laughter boomed around the place. He only gulped, and then closed the door quietly. The staffs that were passing the lobby was awestruck by his appearance. What could this handsome boy doing here? was what most of them thought.

He approached the receptionist who was gazing at him. "Um, I'm here to visit someone?" He said hopefully.

The staff shook his head and coughed. "Ah, yes. Who do you want to visit, young man?"

Tao tensed. What was Lay's name here? Yang Zhixing?

"Uh, um, I'm here to visit... Lay." He said, whispering the last part.

The staff could only look at him strangely. "Uh... yes... There's a patient named Zhang Yixing here that has a split-personality disorder, the other personality he himself nicknamed Lay." He closed his eyes, and then it was open again, buzzing with excitement. "Ah! You're his friend before he went here, are you? Well, this is fantastic!"

Tao only blinked, confused. "Um, yes... so, your point is...?"

"Maybe you could help us solve his problem!" The staff exclaimed, clapping his hand. "Now, if you follow me..."

Tao stumbled across the hall with the staff, ignoring the words that man was ranting. I'd never thought it would be this easy. He noticed the condition of this asylum. There was nail marks, cracks on the walls and the surrounding was extremely dusted. The silence was eerie, only his and the staff's footsteps was heard. He continued to stumble with the man, uncertain.

Lay, I'm coming to get you.

"We are here."

Tao snapped back to reality when he saw the door. It was stark white, with a placate on the center of it. He squinted. The title was a bold lettering of Patient 612 with Zhang Yixing's name trailing below it. His birth date, his age, his sickness. He couldn't help but frown at the split-personality disorder writing that sloppily covered up another writing below it. "Why is his disorder covering up another one below it?"

The staff sighed. "Before, it was unknown. He was fairly normal, observing things. It's got something to do with June 12th. We guess that it's trauma."

Tao internally sighed. This is the real Lay.

"Can I, er, go alone?" He asked uncertainly. The staff nodded, somewhat stiff, and spun on his heels, leaving him alone, dumbfounded.

He slowly opened the door, it's creak disturbing the silence. A man was huddled closely at the window, staring into space. Tao shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to react. It's just Lay. Calm down yourself.

Before Tao could speak, the man cut him off with a single hand movement. "Get out." he whispered, silent and deadly.

But Tao couldn't hold it any much longer. "LAY!" He boomed, running to him. "I'm here, there's nothing to worry about-"

Suddenly, he whimpered in pain. He was pushing himself too hard, over his limits. Lay snapped his head back and caught him just in time. "Tao," he breathed. "Finally, it's about damn time."

"Byun Baekhyun. Baekhyun."

"Bacon," one of them piped up. "Yeah, that'll be your new nickname, Bacon."

"What's bacon?" another one asked, frowning. The man that gave him the 'bacon' nickname shrugs.

"Mother said it is a food from earth."

"I prefer Baek," another one with a toothy grin barges in. "Bacon Baek."

Baekhyun woke up with a start. Those nightmares came again. You can't actually say that they were nightmares- there was nothing frightening about it. But Baekhyun found them eerie. He was there, he was himself on the dreams, but then again, he wasn't. What is that all about anyway? Some kind of memories from his past life?

He sniggered at the thought. Still feeling a bit wobbly, he dragged himself to the kitchen, hoping that some coffee would refresh the day. The pain had subsided, thank goodness. But he was still having those 'nightmares' and headaches. 

He slowly stirred his cup while gazing at the picture of his family. Anger welled up on him. You guys don't know what it feels... to be... abnormal.

Gently, he raised the newly-made coffee onto his lips, embracing the bittersweet taste of it. All of the sudden he choked, releasing the grip to his cup. He froze in shock as the shatter of his thin cup resounded around the kitchen. His right arm suddenly felt weak, and then he trembled, falling to the coffee stain.

He slowly diverted his gaze to his right arm in horror. Please don't let it be paralyzed please please please-

But what he saw on his hand made him take big, deep breaths.

"Holy ," he cursed silently.