Now would be a good time to do so.

Chan Yeol closes his eyes for a second—tries to prepare himself before breaking the news. He then opens them; face full of determination.

“…Ahem…”

All conversations stop as eyes land on Chan Yeol.

“What’s up Yeolie?”

“Yeah, what is it hyung?”

“…”

“My brother called.”

The cheery mood that was once in the air immediately fell after that one statement.

 Sehun dropped his spoon as he was about to bring a spoonful to his mouth; Kai choked on the water he was drinking; D.O.’s eyes got bigger than they already were; Baekhyun got goosebumps.

Chan Yeol remained firm, with Suho worriedly looking over him.

D- “W-wow, hyung… he finally called? When?”

C- “Just a while ago,… before you guys arrived.”

Chan Yeol started to tremble again, but Suho quickly held his wrist firmly and nodded at him to go on.

Chan Yeol let out a heavy sigh and continued.

“He called to ask how I was…

gosh…

It felt so good to hear his voice after all this time…

We couldn’t talk for very long really; we only got the chance to ask each other how we were…

But yeah… he’s been busy, he says… he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to call me again…

I hope he’s safe…

Who knew that he would suddenly call after so long?

The last time I saw him, I wasn’t even in elementary yet.

It’s been 7 years now...

I almost thought he forgot about me…”

B- “… But it’s amazing isn’t it Yeol? We thought that maybe he wouldn’t ever call, but today when we least expected it, he did. You must be so happy.”

C- “(chuckles) yeah… happy… and sad all at the same time…

being so happy that he’s alive, yet being so sad that his safety isn’t guaranteed…

being so happy to hear his voice, yet being so sad I can’t see his face…

I wish I could be with him.”

Se- “But you know that’s dangerous, don’t you hyung? That’s probably why your brother never tells you specifically where he is or what he’s up to—he’s afraid you’ll worry about him… and afraid you’ll want to rush over to his side.”

C- “I know… I know it’s dangerous! I know he wants to protect me from all of it! Ever since I was a kid, he always protected me— always hid the truth from my unknowing eyes, just so I can be happy; always saying that there was nothing to worry about…

always told me to smile because he loved seeing how bright it was…

He has always kept me from harm’s way… even until today…

But I’m not a kid anymore—there’s no need to keep me safe and sound…

I want to protect him too…

I want to be his shield too, like he was to me.

I want to be out there helping him… because he’s all alone in this cruel world…

Without the warmth of anyone’s hug…

And to be hurt for him—I definitely would never mind the pain; I couldn’t care less.

I only want to see hyung so badly, and take him home with me.

He’s somewhere I don’t even know,

With bad people after him…

I just get so worried…

But…

I know that God will protect him…

I know that it’s not yet his time…

I’m at least confident when I say,

That hyung won’t die without me by his side.

The time will come where we will definitely see each other again.

That much I’m sure of.

There was silence after that, as everyone took in the serious mood.

Then later, they all started to speak up.

“Of course hyung—just keep holding on to that hope! It will definitely happen!”

“That’s the positive smile freak we all know!”

“I’m sure your brother is close to finishing all he has to do—you’ll get to meet each other soon.”

“Always smile Yeolie hyung. Sometimes it’s way too bright for our tastes, but it still looks handsome on you so I guess it’s not all bad. Keep smiling, as you wait for your brother.”

Chan Yeol let out another sigh… a relieved one… a small smile formed on his face.

All the things that were going through his mind were finally pushed out and he could breathe again;

He could take air in and feel the tension in his body slowly leaving.

It was great to have friends who would listen to your pains.

Maybe his brother was alone…

Maybe his brother didn’t have anyone to listen to his pains…

But because his brother was a man of God, he was strong and brave.

And Chan Yeol respected and loved his brother very much for that.

His brother could right now be seen as someone against the world.

The dark side of the world, that is.

It will be hard,

He might stumble a bit,

He might get bruised up hard,

But he was going to make it out alive—

Chan Yeol knew that.

Chan Yeol knew that God’s hand was on his side.

Suddenly, Suho’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey Yeol.”

“Oh, what is it hyung?”

“Your back story… you haven’t told Ji yeon about it right? She doesn’t know about this.”

The other guys were a bit shocked.

K-  “Oh, you haven’t told Noona?”

C- “Well… of course… I mean, it took me pretty long to tell you guys too. But since I was a kid, I guess I opened up sooner than I would now…”

“I already like how Ji Yeon and I are… I don’t want her to suddenly see me in a different way… I don’t think I’m ready to tell her yet… what if she stops being friends with me?”

D- “I don’t think she’s that kind of person though, hyung.”

B- “Yeah; she likes you a lot after all. And to begin with, it’s not your fault that you grew up like that—you’re no longer living that way, and that’s all that matters.”

Se- “That’s right hyung; you were a kid—you didn’t know any better. Past is past.”

C- (sighs) “… I know… I know she’s nice… but I’m still scared that things might change…”

“I’ll tell her when I’m ready… just give me time…”

“But it won’t be soon, ok?... I really don’t like my past… I don’t like talking about it at all…”

“Telling the person I like that I used to be a thief—it’s not really the most attractive thing…"

--------

Hey guys! How are you all doing? So I was watching some of EXO's cute moments, then I thought "why not share these with the subbies?" I hope you guys enjot this video!

If this doesn't get you to explode, I dunno what will (>_<)

I think I nearly died during Baekhyun's aegyo. But Xiumin was reaaaalllyyy good too! Actually, just watch it!