"I like--" Jongdae's words hang loosely on his tongue as he watched Minseok's expectant expression nudging him to spill it out. The name of his love. He breathe in as he calm the eratic beating of his heart ready for any possible reactions yet it all came to an halt. Luhan entered the patio with Minseok's favorite chinese dumplings and Jongdae felt his words drown on the seas of Minseok's outcries of glee and the brightness of his face. He knew it was hopeless and it was not even worth a try but he was stubborn and that hurts as hell. Jongdae regained the same curious look Minseok was giving him and the addition of the smiling Luhan. Minseok raised his eyebrows patiently waiting for the secrets to spill from the lightning caster's mouth. "a man named pizza" Jongdae continued earning an amused laugh from his chinese rival and a soft punch from the oldest male. It was soft yet Jongdae  felt his heart shattered into a million pieces. Minseok was cruel because he was kind and it was what was eating Jongdae alive. Minseok's kindness that made him easier to love and impossible to blame. Jongdae drew a smile erasing any hints of pain from his face as he played his usual facade. Trolling. It was necessary to keep himself in place in the position that he must play. A friend.

Jongdae watched as Tao threw the dagger in Jongin's direction and how the sharp weapon nearly scratched Jongin's face to hit the attacker on Jongin's direction. The former member of them smiled at him as he withdrew his hand and scanned the chaotic headquarters of his clan without any remorse or whatsoever. Jongdae made his way to the teleporter to aide him in carrying the half-dead healer to some safe location. Tao stared at them unbudging before changing his attention to the flight caster hovering marvelously above them. Kris landed in front of Jongdae and Jongin and with one flawless motion transferred Yi xing's unconcious body to his back and took off. The ground shook slightly before some clan members were sent flying their direction followed by a glaring Kyungsoo and Luhan trailing on his back. 

"Tao-zi, where is Yi xing?" Luhan asked struggling to keep his expression straight hoping for a better answer than they expected before. Yi xing's death. Tao simply shrugged and pointed upwards which means that he was taken by his former squad leader. Luhan released a soft relieve sigh at the news that their healer still has some pulse on his body which was better than the expected answer. Unlike Luhan's release, Kyungsoo was furious at the former member for not doing anything to save the healer. 

"What has he done?" Kyungsoo's step made the earth shook under his feet which made a few of their enemy lose their balance. Kyungsoo was very intimidating but never was Tao intimidated. Jongdae couldn't help but think who would win against the two. He never saw the youngest chinese use his cast before even though they were in the same squad. Or maybe, he did saw him use it just that he was not aware of it. 

"Why not ask the supremos?" Kyungsoo was silenced by the counter question. They knew the Huang's would never move in such a large scale unless the supremos made them but with the truth of the leader on their hands, they wonder who is giving them orders. They were sure it is not some rotten corpse preserved by a scary flame that keeps the entire citadel afloat and runs the whole exoplanet. No, it isn't. With just a flick of his finger Tao moved inside time. Jongdae has never used the last gift he received from Minseok before, a bracelet with his cast imbued in it. Jongdae watched how Tao processed his thoughts fast with an amused expression. The time controller was fast to conclude that somewhere on Jongdae's body is a certain something imbued with Minseok's cast which thus enables the lightning caster to move at the same time paradox as him which was a hundred times faster than the normal speed which explains why everything is frozen in their eyes. 

"You're not asking questions?" Jongdae smiled smug as he crossed his arms on his chest before shaking his head in a taunting manner. Tao rolled his eyes knowing how the former teammate's brain performs its duties. "What do you want?"

"Help" Tao raised his brows waiting for the lightning caster to continue his explanation wishing it wouldn't be something so lengthy as he does not have the time for the world. "I wanna help you"

"With what?"

"Saving Min-min?" 

"Which Min-min?" Jongdae bit his lips at the sudden question. Tao stared at him before releasing a sigh. "Look--"

"Aren't they one person?" Tao's eyes grew wide in surprise. 

"You--" Tao was unsure of his conclusion. If it was not true then he was some sort of demons incarnate. "love Minseok-hyung?" Jongdae was taken aback but the truth in his eyes was enough to confirm Tao's suspicion. There was a momentary awkward silence before Tao nodded and continued. "Follow me"

"Where?"

"To meet the man you love"

"I like Minseokkie" Luhan's embarrassed face made Jongdae's stomach coil. He hadn't expected to hear Luhan's confession to the team. It was an event that made Jongdae's hard to break confidence vanish into thin air. For the whole time he had been in love with their oldest hyung, he hadn't gathered the courage to tell it to other people even to Baekhyun, his dear best friend. Somehow, it made Jongdae respect the chinese man but the seething feeling of jealousy and pain was something that intoxicated his heart. Amidst the applaus and cheers that befalls the room, Jongdae hears his heart shattered as he confirmed the mutual affection shared between the love of his life and his chinese friend. He forced himself in smiling as he slipped inside the cheers and wolf-wistles trying hard to forget the tears that is threatening to appear on the corner of his eyes. 

Minseok's body wrapped in white silk made Jongdae's stomach lurched as if acids devoured his whole intestine. It made him wanna throw up. He was about to lunge towards the boy when Tao's arms blocked his path. 

"He is safe. Don't disturb him. You'll put everything in danger" Where were they? Jongdae vaguely remembered the routes that they passed for hours and lost count of the hours of travel they had. He forgot his damn watch and his impatience was growing stronger. As much as he wanna burst and save Minseok-in-distress like the prince charming he really is, he agreed to obey Tao's words like some domesticated dog. He groaned. Wait. wait. wait. The word was fixed on his brain as he leaned close to the wall discreetly for a support. 

"What are they doing?" Jongdae observed how few men gathered towards Minseok's sleeping figure sprayed by some kind of liquid that he can't make sense of. Tao glared at him and motioned him to be quiet. 

"Preparing him for some sort of ceremony, a custom apparently." Tao took the white crystal from his inner pocket and clutched it hard. He was no master of identifying ceremonies and traditions nor was he at history. He flunked the darn subject at the institution. Yi xing was the one who aced that one. The traditional purist healer. Jongdae rolled his eyes at the younger male. A sudden tapped on the shoulder made Jongdae almost scream if not for the hand that blocked the sounds from coming out. Tao elbowed his stomach at the sudden noise and glared at the figure in his back. "What are you both doing here, Jongin, Luhan?"

"That's gege for you, Taozi" Luhan countered as he met Tao's glares. Luhan's eyes travelled to Tao's back and like Jongdae's expression he attempted to made his way towards the sleeping figure displayed on a glass casket but was blocked by Tao and restrained by Jongin.

"How did you both find us anyway?" Tao stared at Jongdae who sheepishly smiled at him. Jongin shrugged while Luhan ruffled Jongdae's hair. "You. Are you even in--" Jongdae quickly put his hands on Tao's mouth stopping any words that may come out which he really don't want anybody to know. His undying love for Minseok. Luhan raised his brows at the actions but sighed as he watched the ritual progress.

"How long do we need to wait?" Luhan clenched his fist as impatience eats him. Jongdae shifted his attention at the thought of the prince charming vanishing. No more silly fantasies. 

"I'm sure you are alive, Minnie. I'll tell you next time" Jongdae softly sobbed as he drowned the unsaid words with tears. He promised the bleak future some determination he lost along the way. His confession can wait until they meet again.

Luhan screamed as Minseok's body was thrown towards the furious fire. Jongdae immediately launches a strike of lightning on the enemies coming their way electrocuting them until they were unconcious. It took a lot of Luhan's will and control to stop Minseok from being consumed by the raging blue and white fire with his cast. Jongin quickly teleported near Minseok to grab his body into safety before throwing the signal flare into some sort of space warp calling the other members on stand by. Minseok opened his eyes making the other Exo member including Tao stare at him in surprise. His eyes were in different color. It was a silver-gold heterochromatic feline eyes that greets their vision. For some odd reason, Sungmin's voice entered their head informing them that Minseok's eyes were the result of some ritual performed earlier and that it signifies their cast. Silver for frost and gold for nullification. Minseok nimbly detached himself from Jongin's hold and threw his body on the fire. 

"NOOOOOOOO!" It was messy. Luhan's sudden outrage made his cast go haywire. Luhan called disaster as the room became a zero-gravity zone and people just suddenly been thrown around the room. Jongdae took the white crystal falling on Tao's hands and propelled his way towards the large cauldron of man-eating fire and jumped inside it. 

"JONGDAE!" Jongin and Tao's voice chorus as they called the resident trolling machine's name who followed after their oldest hyung. Luhan seemed to be taken aback by the courage as his cast immediately went back to normal. Sehun blasted inside the room with his wind. His eyes darting towards every corner of the room in search of his tender hyung that raised him. There was mourning silence before the silver and blue fire changed its color to gold and Jongdae climbed out smiling weakly at them. 

Jongdae stared at Xiumin speechless. He never expected that the intruder was actually Minseok. He didn't know what made him sure that the man was really in fact Minseok but he just knew it. There was no convincing him. A chance. Jongdae saw the event as another chance. To voice out the burning emotion inside his poor heart. His love. But he can't bring out his voice. He can't speak. He was weak because yet again cowardice overpowered his love. 

Its been a few hours since Minseok was retrieved from the hellhole which was apparently below the main headquarters in America. Jongdae who was sleeping peacefully after saving Minseok, Luhan who was tired from having his cast depleted due to the sudden outrage, Minseok who was still unconcious, and Yi xing who was resting due to the torture he received from the Huang clan slept on beds next to each other and were watched patiently by the worried owl-eyed Kyungsoo. Jongdae and Luhan woke up almost at the same time. Jongdae smiled at Kyungsoo while Luhan quickly scanned the room in search for Minseok who he found cutely sleeping in the bed next to him. He smiled as he neared the body before kissing his cheeks. "I'll never let you go" Jongdae shifted his attention as soon as Luhan let those words out. He felt his body shrinking in his bed as he tried to blink the pain away. 

"Kyungsoo~ Mornnight~" Jongdae cheerfully greeted as he tried to take his attention away from Luhan caressing Minseok's face in relief because he would be tempted to shove the chinese man off and take his place. A place he longed for more than two decades. Luhan chuckled as he detached himself from Minseok's place. 

"Thank you, Jongdae"

"For what?"

"For saving Minseok--" Jongdae nodded silently. 

"No problem, hyung. No problem" Because I did it to save my love too.

Jongdae desperately reached his hands despite the burning flames eating him whole. It was not the fire or the thought of death that scared him it was the thought of losing his beloved that made him fear. He can't handle it again. The bleak and empty days without his love. He can handle the pain of knowing that his love can never be shared. He can handle the grief of watching him happy over another man side. But, he can't handle it when he's gone. A sudden burst of light from the stone connected him to Minseok's lifeless arms as he pulled him over to the surface where the team was waiting. Where Luhan was waiting. He winced. "Luhan is waiting, hyung. Please" He whispered desperately, silently as he made his way to where the light lead him.

Minseok opened his eyes and Luhan's worried face greeted him. He gathered his stregnth before he pulled his body to sit on his hospital bed meeting the gazes of his team. Kris and Sehun glared at him as if he was a child in need for spanking. 

"What happened?" He questioned as he was still in daze. He was still confused if whether the place was in earth or in heaven. Maybe hell even. 

"You were save by Jongdae" Luhan explained as Minseok's eyes darted to the chuckling Jongdae. 

"Aren't I cool, hyung? Praise me" 

"What happens to the exoplanet?"

"It's fine. Don't worry bout it. I made the arrangements" Yi xing weak voice answered as he smiled sweetly to the oldest hyung. Suho was on his side assisting him. 

"I'm sorry." Minseok placed his gaze to white sheets covering his lower half guilty of the trouble he caused to the team. "Very sorry"

"As long as you dont do it again, baozi. Don't disappear again. I'll die" Luhan cried as he encaged Minseok's frail body inside his arms. Minseok nodded as he patted Luhan's back kissing the tears away. "We are sorry, Luhan." The team smiled at them except for Jongdae who stared blankly at the young men with grief-filled eyes. He smiled weakly hiding the stabbing sword of truth in his heart unable to pull it out. 

"I love you, baozi. The winter version too" Luhan chuckled as cupped Minseok's face with his hands staring at the beautiful feline-like eyes Minseok possess. "I love you and I'm not letting you go" Luhan's determined voice made Minseok flush red. The dual caster buried his face on Luhan's chest to hide the blush and embarassment he feels. Exo laughed and wolf-whistled. Jongdae chuckled as he watched the scene unfold in his eyes. There was nothing he can do. Minseok's heart has never been his. 

Jongdae, Yi xing and Tao were left inside the hospital ward as the other members went out to fetch some food and gather some supply for the illegal party that they'll be helding inside the room after a few hours. Yi xing and Tao sighed awkwardly in a synchronized manner before the chinese former assassin broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"What?" Jongdae slumped on the sofa that Kris, Jongin, and Baekhyun occupied moments ago before he stared at Tao's questioning gazes. 

"You're apparent love for Minseok-hyung" Yi xing continued making Jongdae stare at him confusedly. "No need to blame Tao. I didn't hear it from him. I just know" Jongade frowned as he placed his hands behind his head in a lazy manner. 

"Because it was just a simple crush"

"Don't deceive us, Jongdae. The crystal can't be activated unless with pure love. A concentration of pure soul energy that is a hundred times more powerful than the life energy from a cast. And to have the whole exoplanet running without any demise, it is not a simple crush" Jongdae growled at the explanation. So his love have some use afterall because as he was just informed it saved the damned exoplanet from crumbling. Yi xing and Tao sighed. 

"You could have at least told us. We could have helped you" Tao murmured silently.

"No help is needed because it was a lost cause. I never had his heart. I just love him and that's enough. I really don't want him to be torn between me and Luhan-hyung. I know he'll suffer"

"And you're not suffering?"

"It's not that bad. It's the way I love. I can carry the whole world just to see him safe and I can cry a river of tears just to see him smile. That's how I love"

"That's how you became a real hero, Jongdae. With your pure love" Yi xing smiled affectionately at Jongdae who for the first time released the tears he was quelling inside his eyes. Jongdae softly smiled back at Yi xing. Tao grimaced. 

"Your love for Min-ge is as pure as it is cheesy" Jongdae and Yi xing let out a laugh as Tao shuddered at all the cheesiness he witnessed before joining the laugh. Jongdae smiled as he felt some heavy burden was lifted from his heart. Not entirely all the pain but somehow he feels lighter. He knew that he will be hurt from the days to come but he never regrets his silence because he knows that happiness never stray too far from sorrow. He don't know how many days, weeks, months, and years it'll take before he'll move on or if he'll continue to love Minseok till eternity but he knew that as long as Minseok is smiling he can make it through. That's how he loves afterall. Jongdae closed his eyes and was soon greeted by the Minseok of his dreams before he softly whispered "I love you". Yi xing and Tao spared a glance at the sleeping troll and smiled softly at him. They prayed for his happiness more than anything else. 

"Thank you for showing us that love" Yi xing and Tao chorused.