TWENTY

"Luhan, come here."

The next morning, Chen sat cross-legged on their bed with his hands behind his back. Chen patted the spot in front of him with a smile. Luhan crawled onto the bed and onto Chen's lap instead, catching him by surprise, and leaned into his neck.

"Yes?" He replied with a nuzzle to his collarbone, making Chen's heart leap.

"Present!!" He whipped his hands in front of him, half hugging Luhan, revealing a sturdy black box.

"What's that?" Luhan leaned over to sniff it, and Chen giggled. "It doesn't have a smell, Luhan."

Chen opened the box, and pulled out a weird structure made up of five small round balls suspended with wire. Luhan stared at it with great curiosity.

"It's a Newton's cradle, Luhan." Chen placed it on the plan of his hand, and pulled back one of the balls. When he let it go, the ball fell back, hitting the one next to it, and the end ball swung backwards. 

Luhan gaped. "How did you do that?!"

Chen shrugged, "I didn't do it, it's physics." They watched the ball swing back and forth several times, before Chen stopped it with his hand.

"Luhan." He placed the Newton's cradle in his hands, and turned to him with a sincere smile. 

"I promise that as long as I'm here with you, this pendulum will never stop ticking."

Luhan blushed. "Really? I thought it will stop on its own after a while."

Chen raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, pulling Luhan into a hug.

                                                                                    ***

Chanyeol organised a double date for himself, Baekhyun, Luhan and Chen. That was a pretty normal occurrence, aside from the fact that Chen noticed Chanyeol's great uneasiness and constant urge to say something to him. 

Of course, he had an ulterior motive. Halfway into the date, he almost literally stuffed Luhan and Baekhyun in a kiddy ball playground before grabbing Chen by the collar and dragging him out of the playground area.

"In case you didn't know, they said it's for children below the age of twelve..." Chen murmured and gestured hastily towards a sign as Chanyeol lugged him to the cafe connected to the play area.

Chanyeol plopped him on a chair and sat opposite him, ignoring Chen's previous statement.

"Chen, you've got to tell me what's going on."

Chen blinked, swallowing. "What do you mean?"

He sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "I know that there is something not normal about you Chen. I won't... I won't ask you to tell me about you if you don't want to. But... I need to know about Luhan."

Chen chewed his lip nervously. I... Should I tell Chanyeol about me?

"Do you know about Luhan's past, Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol shook his head, and Chen continued. "Luhan's life is in great danger."

Chen told the whole story to Chanyeol, including Luhan's past, Chen's entry into Luhan's life, Kai, and even Tao. It hasn't been fair for him these few months, Chen thought. He always had to be the one at the receiving end.

Chanyeol leant back, his breaths fast and his cheeks pale. "So that's what has been happening?!" He panted, face etched with regret. "How could I not know of this..."

Chen shook his head sadly. "Luhan would never want you to know... Don't tell him that I told you, okay?"

Chanyeol nodded. "That's the least I can do."

                                                                                    ***

As the evening sky darkened, Chen hurried home from the grocery store. He realised that they were running out of ingredients so he had popped by the shop to buy some food.

As he was passing by an alley, a hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Chen's momentum broke and stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face. He spun around. "Who's that?"

From the alley, a hooded figure emerged. He was rather small-sized, petite with narrow shoulders. His face was blocked by a black veil and he was dressed in an oversized hoodie and baggy jeans.

"Chen. You need to listen to me." His voice was soft and urgent, and Chen blinked hard. Who is this guy?

"Chen, I can't tell you who I am yet." The boy took one of his hands with his small ones. From the clammy fingers clutching his, Chen could tell that the boy was but barely seventeen years old. For some strange reason, he felt compelled to listen to this stranger.

"I'm listening." He murmured.

"Break up with Luhan." The boy whispered, voice laced with desperation. 

Chen gasped, breaking the contact with the boy. It wasn't so much the fact that he was telling Chen to do the number one thing he would never want to do. It's more the fact that he said it in such a hushed, worried tone with no malicious intent. 

"I'm serious, you have to escape before it's too late, Chen. If you stay around, you are going to get gravely injured."

Gravely injured? What is this boy talking about?

"I'm here to protect Luhan, I can't escape just like that." Chen replied, his voice trembling.

"Leave Luhan to me, I can handle it. Trust me, please, Chen..." The boy pleaded.

Chen's eyes widened in confusion.

"I...I can't!! I..."

The boy took Chen's hand again and intertwined their fingers, much to Chen's surprise. 

"Please.... Please, you've got to believe me..."

                                                                                    ***

Luhan watched as Chen's slumped figure entered the house, walking straight into the kitchen without even sparing him a glance.

"Chen?" Luhan walked quickly to the other boy and wrapped his arms around his waist, leaning on his back.

"What's wrong, Chenchen?"

Chen stilled in his grip, his hands trembling as he held the groceries, and he placed them down slowly before turning to face Luhan.

Luhan gasped and pulled away in shock. Chen's face was horribly ashen, his cheekbones drawn way back, his eyes swollen and very black and expressionless. He opened his mouth but nothing came out except a shaky sigh.

"What's wrong? Chenchen?" He stretched out and cupped his cheek gently, guiding Chen's face towards his direction and forcing him to look into his eyes.

Chen stared at him blankly for a long ten seconds. Then he spoke.

"L-Luhan... I'm s-sorry."

Sorry?! For what?!

"L-Luhan... I c-can't do this... A-anymore..."

Do... This?

Chen leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his lips. It tasted salty from his tears - he must have been crying earlier. Luhan was frozen on the spot, his body wanted to grab Chen into a hug, his lips wanted to pull Chen into a passionate kiss, but he couldn't move.

This is not happening.

It's been barely two weeks since Chen got back, and now he's... He's...

Chen pulled away, his eyes swimming with tears. "Sorry," he murmured, turning his back and running out of the apartment.

... Leaving.

                                                                                    ***

Chanyeol almost shrieked in surprise when Luhan tumbled into his house at midnight, straight into his arms, crying hysterically.

"Whoa whoa, what happened?!"

"He broke up with meeeeeee!!!" Luhan wailed into his shirt.

"Chen?! Chen broke up with you?!" Chanyeol was genuinely astonished.

Luhan howled in response.

"But why? He loves you so much!! I've never seen anyone who loves anyone as much as Chen loves you!! You've gotta be kidding me!"

Luhan shook his head wildly, gasping for breath.

Chanyeol led Luhan to the couch, as a sleepy-looking Baekhyun emerged from their room. He took one look at the sobbing Luhan and immediately jumped onto the couch, pulling Luhan into a hug.

"Hey, what's wrong Luhan?" Baekhyun pressed Luhan's face to his chest in an attempt to smother his overflowing tears.

Chanyeol left them and hurried to the room, flipping open his phone and dialling Chen's number.

A tired voice answered on the third ring. "Yeah?"

"Chen, what's the meaning of this?! Luhan is hysterical!!"

There was a painful sigh on the other end. "Chanyeol. Please help me. I... I can't be with Luhan, it's a complicated story-"

"Complicated my foot!!" Chanyeol yelled. "He's drowning in his grief now and all you say is complicated?!"

Chen was silent for a couple of seconds, before he hung up. Chanyeol hurled his phone on his bed angrily and slammed the cupboard with his fist.

"Dammit... What's happening now?!"

                                                                                    ***

Chief's words echoed in his mind endlessly. 

"You are very important, Chen. Our livelihood depends on you, we cannot to let this man break the force between our universe, it would cause chaos again. Not even the plague can stop it if that happens."

"I just hope that in your quest of protecting Luhan and completing your mission, you keep your feelings in check and don't let it get the better of you."

Chen squeezed his eyes shut, preventing the tears from falling.

I know, Chief, you are right.

I will keep my feelings in check. I will. 

He leaned heavily against the wall as Luhan's heartbroken look flashed in his mind. 

Luhan... I'm sorry...

I know you're hurting, I'm also hurting but this is the best for us...

He thought back to earlier that evening, what that mysterious boy had said to him before he left...

"An evil force is breaking onto this universe, Chen. If you don't leave Luhan and hide yourself, you will get destroyed by it. And if you get destroyed, the evil force wins because you are the sole reason that holds everything in place."

I want to protect Luhan... I don't want this evil force anywhere near him... But at the same time I don't want the evil force to win...

What should I do...

                                                                                    ***

Chanyeol and Baekhyun stood in front of Luhan, eyeing each other hesitantly.

"Umm, Luhan, we're going out for dinner for a while. We'll buy some food back for you..." Chanyeol trailed off, and Baekhyun smacked his head in frustration. "Uh, is there anything you would like to eat?"

Luhan smiled slowly. Of course they are going out today, it's the 14th of March, White Day. He ignored the clench of his heart as he turned to them with a grin. 

"It's okay, I'll cook my own meal. Don't worry about me!!"

Chanyeol and Baekhyun exchanged a worried glance, then nodded. "We'll be back late, take care Luhan!"

As they stepped out of the house, Baekhyun gasped. "Luhan!! There's something for you!!"

He stepped back into the house and handed Luhan a package with his name written messily on it. Baekhyun patted his shoulder, and left the house with Chanyeol.

Luhan stared at the package for a long while, before slowly tearing it open.


It was a box of chocolates.

Luhan bit his knuckles hard as a surge of pain in his heart overwhelmed him. He choked on a lump in his throat and his tears started to flow uncontrollably. There, stuck on the chocolate box, was a small note.
 

Luhan
I love you
Don't ever forget that
Smile and stay strong 
Chenchen
 

He ran out of the house immediately.

Chen... Chen... If he had placed the gift there, it means he's somewhere nearby...

Chen... Chenchen where are you?!

Luhan stopped at an intersection corner, wiping his eyes angrily to clear his blurred vision.

Chen!! Where are you?!?!


Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder.

Chen?! He spun around in anticipation, but it wasn't.

It was a middle-aged man, tall and buff, his eyes had a mean glint to them. Hard lines etched all over his face, and his mouth widened to a wide smirk. Luhan felt a shiver run down his spine.

The man spoke. "I'm Ahn Jung Won."

The voice. The voice. This voice... He remembered it. He would recognise it anywhere.


“Where could that idiotic boy be? There’s not a single sign of life up there aside from a stupid hamster!”

“Maybe he escaped. Hell, we didn’t even see anyone escape.”

“Maybe he’s hiding somewhere outside the garden.”

“I’ll go look…”

“Any chance here…?” 

“Come on don’t be ridiculous, Min. Why would a stupid boy wedge himself there.”

“Fine.” 


It was him.

The man who called MinJeok 'Min'. 

Ahn Jung Won, Do MinJeok's apprentice.


And he is here for me.

A/N: No random spot today. I am working on a new project muahaha :D ;)