20

Building the sand castle with my best friend Yoona, I can never ask for a better vacation. It brings back all the memories when we were still kids playing sand at the neighbourhood playground. The structure of our sand castle is almost done, not until a huge wave sweeps it away out of a sudden. I let out an annoying grunt as I watch the ruthless wave destroys our beautiful masterpiece.

Yoona, on the other hand, remains calm and collected. Instead of throwing a fit, like me, she smiles and starts to build the sand castle right from scratch.

“Lyorin, even after many tries and struggles, don’t ever give up. Be like the sand ~” She speaks and shows her the handful of sand in her palm. “Despite the constant whip lashes from the merciless waves, the sand remains strong and never depletes. No matter how hard the waves try to drag the sand away, it will never leave its spot.”

I watch my best friend picks up a sea shell and gives it to me. “See, you might lose some, but you will gain something even more beautiful like this shell. You need to persevere. You need to be strong.” She smiles and her eyes sparkles with full of radiant, just like a Sun.

“Now, I want you to continue building the sand castle without me. You can do it.” She rubs her two palms to get rid of the sand and stands up.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

However, Yoona keeps silent. She gives me the most angelic smiles before turning around and walks away.

Quickly, I stand up to chase after her.

Suddenly, a bright light appears out of nowhere. I squeeze my eyes trying to adjust the brightness of it. I watch as Yoona walks towards the light.

“Yoona, where are you going?” I call out.

I try to move my legs but it is useless. My feet seem to be firmly rooted.

I watch intently and that is when I see them.

The people I’ve always wanted to meet in my whole life; my parents.

Standing on both sides of Yoona, I see dad and mom.

Dad waves at me while mom gives me proudest smile I’ve ever seen from someone.

“Lyorin, seek the Sun. It’s the key to everything you need to know.” Dad says.

I shake my head and reply. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s all in you, my dear.” My mom speaks this time.

The light slowly fades away and the three of my precious people are disappearing; slowly and painfully. I want to be with them.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave me.”

I cry but everything happens so quickly. In a blink of an eye, they are gone.

~*~

Luhan stared at the photograph in front of him. A tear dropped as he recalled all the memorable times he spent with her. It had been two weeks since Yoona’s death, but it felt like it was just yesterday that she was gone. The cut was still fresh and deep and all he could do is to swallow the pain of it, slowly. Sitting all by himself at the balcony of his room, he hid the photograph after looking at it for quite a while and then watched the peaceful view of the vast lake.

He thought he was alone until someone entered the balcony. Someone he didn’t expect to see.

“Luhan oppa ~” Lyorin called out weakly and peeped into the balcony where Luhan was at.

That voice; he missed it so much. With a smile, he turned around and saw her walking towards him. Dressed in an oversized hooded jacket and long pants, she came and sat next to him. She still looked sick but at least it wasn’t as bad as before. Her eyes were no longer just pain and sorrows.

There was life in it.

Both of them sat quietly, enjoying the serenity of the atmosphere. She pulled up her knees and hugged it tightly. It was a cold night, even more cold when she just lost someone really dear to her. Luhan turned his head and looked at her lovingly. Carefully, he reached out his hand and her hair. She didn't reject his touch because it was comforting and relaxing.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, breaking the silence between them. He hadn't spoken to her for a while.

Lyorin tilted her head and leaned on his shoulder. "Slightly better than before." She replied.

He smiled as she snuggled closer to him. This was the Lyorin he missed; just like a lovable baby sister.  Despite her stubborness and cold atttitude at times, he could never ever get angry at her. "Oppa, I dreamt of Yoona ~" She said softly. At the mention of Yoona, Luhan's heart dropped. "She told me to be like the sand; to always remain strong despite the never ending waves that only try to sweep everything away."

He nodded as he listened to her every word intently. Once she was done telling him about her dream, he gently reminded. "Lyorin, listen to Yoona. You need to stay strong okay?"

She looked down and mumbled, "I will; for her, for my parents, for myself and ~" She stopped and looked at him with a small smile. “For EXO.”

Luhan pulled her closer and gave her the warmest embrace. Her words may be nothing extravagant to anyone else but to him, it added so much strength in him. Tears began to well in his eyes, however he it all in and refused to cry, at least not in her presence.

Several minutes passed and both of them remained still. He loved her company and she felt the same way. They didn’t need to talk to understand each other’s feelings. She knew he was hurting as much as she was. She could see the emptiness in his eyes and wish to fill up the void. Yes, her friend was gone but life still needed to continue.

They had to continue and be stronger than before.

Unknowingly amidst the lovely night, someone was watching the two of them secretly at the back. A smile crept when he listened to her soft yet meaningful words. She might look fragile and vulnerable physically but she was by far the strongest girl he had ever met. He wished she would at least share a small portion of her troubles and worries; to lessen her burden. He wished in the future, she didn’t need to encounter all these painful episodes in her life all by herself.

Above everything, he wished to stay by her side forever.

~*~

Lyorin put down her book after reading it for the past two hours. She stood up from her seat and stretched herself. She wanted to go out. She wanted to go somewhere. Quickly, she grabbed her jacket from the wardrobe and went out of the room. She needed someone to accompany her. She walked towards the guys’ rooms but surprisingly, the rooms were unoccupied. Where were all of them, she wondered. Timidly, she walked down the staircase to the living room but once again she was greeted with an empty room.

“Ah ~ they must be at the basement for training.” She went a level down. As she approached the huge doors to their training room, she could faintly hear the noise in there.

She was hesitant whether to barge in because it would be inconsiderate to ask the guys to accompany her when they were busy in training. However, she really wanted to go. Carefully, she knocked before entering the room.

To her surprise, the only person inside was only Kai training all by himself; without a shirt on.

“!” She cursed and instantly took a step backward; closing her eyes.

Of course, Kai sensed her entrance and when he saw that she was about to leave the room, he teleported just right in front of her. Since her eyes were closed, she accidentally bumped into his hard bare abs which added on to the redness of her cheeks.

He smirked before asking. “What are you doing here?” He purposely more by standing really close to her.

Looking down while trying to avoid his eyes, Lyorin replied. “N-nothing, I w-was just ~” She stuttered nervously.

He put an arm on her shoulder and knelt down to her eye level with their noses almost touching. “Why are you shaking? It’s not like you’ve never seen our bare bodies; no wait, my body.” He teased.

She looked away, still feeling afraid to see him in the eyes. “Where are the rest?” She softly asked, totally diverting the conversation.

“It’s just you and me.” He cooed.

His deep low and y voice further increased the speed of her heartbeat. She wanted to escape and run away or even pretend to pass out just so she could save her from all the embarrassment she was having. Seeing that she was really having a hard time, Kai grabbed his shirt and put it on.

“The rest went out.” He said while fixing his wet hair. “What are you doing here? Are you looking for me?”

“I want to ~ oh never mind.” She replied but didn’t end her sentence and was about to walk away when he tugged her arm.

“What is it?” He asked nicely.

She looked at his eyes and spoke. “Can you bring me to Yoona’s grave?”

~*~

The door to Yongguk’s room was forcefully kicked open as both Himchan and Daehyun brought in their injured leader. Once again, BAP failed in their mission and this time, their leader was badly beaten. With a deep cut across his stomach; he was losing so much blood.

Himchan, being the second in line after Yongguk ordered the youngest, Zelo to call for their healers to hurry. He then turned to Yongguk, who seemed to be in a daze and semi-conscious. “Yongguk, listen to me. Don’t close your eyes.” However, once he said that Yongguk slowly closed his eyes which made Himchan even more panicked. He slapped the leader’s cheek and cried. “BANG YONGGUK! DON’T YOU DARE GO TO SLEEP?”

Youngjae hurried in, bringing along the healers. Carrying their tools and equipment, the resident healers of BAP started working on Yongguk. The rest of the members never left the room and stayed behind, watching their leader shouting in pain.

Zelo started to sniff and tears began to flow. That was the first time he witnessed his strong leader struggling from all the pain. Despite being the tallest in the group, Zelo was still the youngest and his heart was less cold as compared to the rest.

Himchan walked up to him and patted his back. “Don’t worry, Zelo. He’s going to be alright.” He assured.

He knew Yongguk would survive.

He had to.

That night, they had a brutal encounter. With every mission, either they were weakening or the enemies were getting stronger. Enemies; whom they didn’t even know. They should be stronger ones however it seemed like this unknown group of people, or even a clan of them shouldn’t be underestimated. It surprised how these people could get more powerful.

What was it they want from them? Why did they keep hindering their missions?

(To be continued)

HELLO BAP is back!

Oh and Kai, i'm so going to wipe that smirk of your face!