He stood outside the restaurant doors, sniffling from the winter cold. His hand wavered above the door handle, pondering if he should walk in or not. He wasn't even sure why he was here. He did skip all the other high school reunions... Why not this one too? 

"... I need to move on." He murmured, grasping the handle and allowing himself inside. He dusted off his snow-covered shoes and stood there, unsure of where to go. He scanned the chattering restaurant for any familiar heads, but then again, he hadn't seen them in well over five years. They could be unrecognizable now.

"Table for one?" The lady employee asked with a soft smile on her face. 

"Ah... I'm looking for the group from the Seoul high school reunion." He replied, pulling his scarf down to make himself clearer.

"Oh, yes! Zhang Yixing-ssi, right? Your friends have been expecting you. Please follow me." 

"... They've been expecting me?" Yixing pulled his scarf back up to hide his smile. "Even though I never come?"

They went up to the second floor, where the private rooms were located. The lady knocked on one of the doors and opened it. 

"Zhang Yixing-ssi is here."

Yixing blushed at the ovation he got though he hadn't even stepped into the room yet.

He hesitantly walked in, only to be pelted with straw wrappers and tissues.

"There's the damn bastard!" A boy Yixing remembered as Jongin shouted. He was still the same. "You finally decide to show up!"

"Hey, don't throw trash at him!" The man whom they called class president said. They hardly ever used to call him by his real name, Kim Junmyeon. "He must be tired."

"Sit down, Yixing." Yixing was more than a little happy to see his best friend, Zitao, sitting in the corner. He quickly sat down next to him and hid his face in his scarf.

Zitao wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "How are you?"

"I'm good..." Yixing murmured, getting uncomfortable from all the eyes on him. The reason why Zitao was his best friend was because he could sense these things.

"Guys, stop staring." He scolded, hugging Yixing's head protectively.

"Don't tell me he's still shy," Jongin scoffed. He took a sip of his beer can and slammed it on the table. "Bastard needs to grow some balls."

"Chill out Jongin," their class diva, Baekhyun, retorted. If anything, Yixing noticed the boy had grown sassier since high school. "Like you have any."

"I'm not even sure if you have a , girlie." Jongin countered, a smirk forming on his face.

"Sure I do." Baekhyun promptly slapped Chanyeol's backside. "Ask this that I ed last night." Chanyeol, who was widely known across school as Baekhyun's , blushed furiously and started coughing.

Jongin pouted, knowing when he was defeated. "So when the hell are we going to eat?"

"Yeah, let's order." Junmyeon pulled a menu from under their empty cans. "Let's get the seafood and the barbeque special. Sound good?"

Zitao glanced at Yixing. "You okay with that?" 

Yixing nodded absentmindedly as his eyes wandered to the empty spot between Zitao and Baekhyun.
 

"Of course he wouldn't be here..."
 

They had ordered, and soon the food found its place on their table. 

"Come to mama." Jongin was eyeing the meat with saliva coming out of his mouth.

"Hold on Jongin," Junmyeon wiped the boy's chin with his sleeve. "Let's have Yixing eat first. This is his first time coming, after all."

Jongin rolled his eyes. "... Fine. Go ahead, Princess Xing-Xing."

Yixing respectfully bowed his head and scanned the table. He spotted a plate of fried calamari and quietly reached over to pick one up. Glancing at his old schoolmates, he tentatively raised the squid in the air, murmuring "to our future."

"TO OUR FUTURE!" Jongin shouted, and immediately began eating.

Zitao gave his best friend a proud look and rustled his hair. "Let's eat."

Yixing finally smiled, nodding. He took a small bite out of the calamari, liking how it tasted. 

"Oh," Chanyeol grabbed a smaller dish and placed it front of Yixing. "You're supposed to dip it in this." 

The boy stiffened, blinking at the dish of mayonnaise. He froze completely, his piece of calamari falling out of his hand and onto the floor.

Zitao panicked, moving the mayonnaise across the table. "He doesn't need that," he said quickly.

"But you have to eat calamari with mayon—"

"He doesn't need it." Zitao repeated, his voice turning harsh. The room suddenly turned quiet as everyone stopped moving.

"What's the big deal?" Jongin ignorantly asked. "It's just mayonnaise." A bump under the table caused Jongin to cry out of pain. "Who kicked me?!"

"They're still mourning, ." Baekhyun shot a dirty look at him.

"Mourning isn't the right word." Junmyeon spoke up. "We don't know if Luhan is dead."

"Luhan?" Jongin snickered. "You mean that mayo-obsessed freak?" He went full-out laughing now. "So what, he's been missing for five years? He's probably sleeping around in the streets, get over it—" 

A can was thrown at Jongin's head. Zitao had thrown it, with his eyes red and teary. "... Of... Of all people, you dare to speak about him like that. WEREN'T YOU IN LOVE WITH HIM, JACKASS?!"

"Tao...!" Yixing tried to hold him back.

"IT'S BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT—" Tears rolled down his cheeks. "— THAT HE NEVER WANTS TO COME BACK, YOU LITTLE !" He stormed out of the room, knocking over glasses on the table. Yixing quickly followed after him.

Baekhyun sighed irritably. He glared at Jongin, who was hanging his head low. "You little . Why would you talk about him here, in front of his two best friends?" The diva stood up, glancing down at Chanyeol. "Come on babe, we're getting out of here."

"O-Okay." The taller nodded at Junmyeon before following Baekhyun out the door.

There was only Junmyeon and Jongin left in the room. 

The former sighed, taking a look at the boy beside him. "Its okay Jongin, don't cry."

"... I-I'm not crying." The younger choked out, tears dripping down his chin.

"It's okay." Junmyeon dabbed at his cheeks. "We all know you just wanted to be strong for Luhan." 

Jongin suddenly wrapped his arms around the other, sniffling in his chest. "... W-Why can't he just come back...?"

Surprised, Junmyeon patted Jongin's back. "I don't know, Jongin." He sighed. "I don't know."

--

Yixing stepped outside of the restaurant, eyes looking for his friend. He spotted the raven boy sitting on the sidewalk. 

"Tao," he worriedly wrapped his scarf around Zitao's neck. "You're going to catch a cold."

Zitao smiled, despite the tear trails on his face. "... This is his, isn't it...?" He felt the red scarf between his fingers.

Yixing sighed, sitting down next to him. "... Yeah, he gave it to me. On Jongin's birthday."

Zitao laughed. "The idiot believed in giving everyone gifts at someone's birthday party..."

"The funny part was, Luhan gave Jongin a can opener." Yixing stared into the cloudy sky, remembering. 

"Remember when we hid all of his mayo bottles?" 

Yixing smiled at that memory. "That mayo obsession was no joke. He nearly ripped my arm off."

"And, and... Do you still remember his infamous catchphrase?"

"Enjoy the mayo?"

"That, that!" Zitao started laughing as more tears came out. "That was so funny..."

Yixing hugged Zitao as he cried, out in the winter cold.

"... I miss him so much..." He sobbed, clenching the scarf in fists. 

Before he knew it, Yixing had also started tearing up. "... Me too..." He again stared up at the sky that had no sun. "Where are you?"
 

“Where are you, Luhan?”



--

Yixing had difficulty pushing his key into the lock, as his hands were still frozen numb. After a short struggle, he managed to get in his apartment. He kicked his shoes off and tossed his jacket haphazardly on the floor. His phone buzzed in his pocket at that time.


11:43PM — TAO
You got home okay?

11:43PM — XINGXING
Yeah :) sleep well

11:44PM — TAO
You too 


Yixing sighed, putting away his phone. He walked into his kitchen and opened the fridge. He was about to reach for a beer bottle when something on the shelf caught his eye. 

Blinking, he pulled out a yellow bottle of mayonnaise out of the fridge. He stared at it, trying to remember what mayonnaise tasted like. He hadn't eaten it since high school graduation... The day Luhan disappeared, five years ago. He had been too traumatized to go anywhere near the condiment.

"I need to get over this," he uncapped the bottle. "I need to move on." 

If he forgot about Luhan, he would be able to live a happy life. If he forgot, and Luhan came back, then he would have an even happier life.
 

But there was no point in waiting for him.


Yixing slowly brought the bottle to his lips. He squeezed the bottle, allowing the mayonnaise to go into his mouth. A weird feeling went up his spine as soon as it touched his taste buds. After a moment, he put the bottle on the counter with a sigh.
 

“... That wasn’t too bad.”
 

He walked out of the kitchen, plopping on his sofa and grabbing the remote. He watched some television for a while, eventually getting sleepy. He tossed the remote onto the floor and lied down, soon falling into dreamland.

--

Yixing woke up with a jerk, pulling his eyes open. He rubbed his shivering arms, his fingers running over the goose bumps. Taking a glance at the clock on the wall, he concluded that it was well over two in the morning. His bed and blanket seemed like a good idea about now. He stood, holding the sofa for balance. He was a little dizzy; maybe it was because of his weird sleeping position just now.

Just as he was about to reach his bedroom door, he heard a little clicking sound. Yixing thought it was from outside, but when he heard it again, he knew it was coming from the kitchen. He his heel and strode to the source.

The kitchen lights were on. Yixing stood at the doorway, his eyes wavering to a lone figure standing in front of the counter. The person was unfamiliar. He— assuming it was a he— had strewn hazelnut hair and casual but dirty clothing. There was something about this person that intrigued Yixing... But then Yixing remembered a total stranger was in his house.

He took a step forward, intending to knock out his intruder, but he took a proper glance at the skin. The white milky skin.

There were only two people who had keys to his house, Yixing reasoned. One of them was Zitao. The other was...

“... L-Luhan...?” Yixing uttered, just barely letting out a whisper. He couldn’t believe it. Was it really him?

The boy turned, staring at Yixing with his chocolate eyes. Yixing knew that face; it hadn’t changed, even five years later.

“... Luhan. Luhan. Luhan!” He ran and threw his arms around him, squeezing his best friend whom he missed so much. “Y-You’re back...” Soon, tears came trailing out of his eyes, but they were happy tears. “You’re back! I... We really missed you...” He let go of him and felt his face, making sure he was actually there. “... Where... Where did you go? For five years... Where were you?”
 

He stared at Yixing for a silent moment. He then put on a soft grin. “... Enjoy the mayo.” His voice was a little raspy, but it made Yixing’s heart flutter just to hear it again.
 

Yixing’s eyes trailed from him to his hand. He was tightly grasping the mayonnaise bottle that Yixing had left there earlier. He let out a short chuckle; Luhan didn’t change the slightest.

“... Fine. I’ll... Go run the shower for you, okay? You’re really dirty. After that... Answer me, okay?” Yixing smiled, walking to the bathroom. He went and the bath, letting the hot water run into the tub. While he was waiting for it to fill, he smiled again.
 

His best friend was back. After five years, five long years... He was back.
 

But where did he go? Why did he leave? What did he do? So many questions ran through Yixing’s mind. He wanted answers; he needed them. Why would Luhan leave for so long, causing so many people— especially Zitao— to cry over his disappearance? And why did he only return now?
 

Zitao.
 

Yixing smiled for a third time, thinking about how happy Zitao would be to hear that he was back. He’d probably be so happy, that he’d cry all over again. He’d probably squeeze the guts out of Luhan, and then cage him so that he wouldn’t leave again.

As for someone like Jongin, he’s probably act all cool about it, but deep inside, he would be crying happily inside. Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Junmyeon would be happy too.


They would be so happy.
 

Yixing returned to reality, realizing the bath should be full by now. He reached over and turned off the tap, glancing at the water.
 

It wasn’t water.
 

A white-yellow substance filled the tub to the brim instead of what should’ve been water. Yixing blinked confusedly. He dipped a finger in and tentatively tasted it.
 

“... Mayonnaise?”

 

Before he could react, Yixing’s head was pushed into the tub. The condiment entered his mouth and burned his throat. He couldn’t breathe; not in mayonnaise. As he was struggling against whoever was attempting to kill him, he could vaguely hear someone chanting,
 

“Enjoy the mayo.”
 

“Enjoy the mayo.”
 

“Enjoy the mayo.”

 

He was going in and out unconsciousness. He had inhaled too much. His arms gave out, and his body went limp.
 

Zhang Yixing was dead.
 

When Luhan noticed that he stopped struggling, he removed his hand from the other’s head and pulled him out of the tub. Dropping the corpse onto the floor, Luhan checked his pulse, confirming that he just murdered his best friend. A smile formed on his face as he swiped a finger across Yixing’s mayo-covered face, it.

 

“This is what happens when you forget about me, Yixing.” 

I AM SO SORRY //shot for stupidity