“Kai… Jong In… I’m sorry, I don’t know how to fix this.”

“Call… KyungSoo…”

“K-kyung Soo? D-do you have his number?”

“Here… use my phone and call him up.”

“Ok. Just hold on Kai.”

Jiyeon selected D.O.’s number from the contacts and called him up.

“Hello?”

“Kyungsoo Oppa!”

“Oh! Jiyeon? Why are you using Jongin’s phone?”

“He’s bleeding, oppa! The sharp bumper of a car scratched him, and now he’s bleeding! I don’t know what to do! Please come over.”

“What!? I’ll be right there! Text me the address to your house.”

So after the call ended, Jiyeon hastily texted her address to Kyungsoo. Then while waiting, she rushed around the house to find some cloth to try and stop the bleeding. In a matter of fifteen minutes, Kyungsoo already arrived at Jiyeons’ place. Wet from the rain.

“Hyung… your soaking wet.”

“Kai, keep it together ok? I’m here.”

D.O. entered the house, and sat next to Jiyeon, where Kai was lying on the ground. He opened his backpack and took out some Betadine, cotton, and bandages used to cover large wounds.

“D.O. oppa, how did you get here this fast?” Jiyeon asked while looking for a towel and some dry clothes Kyungsoo could borrow.

“When you called, I was still at school doing some errands for a teacher. Thank goodness too, or I never would have gotten here this quick.”

D.O. helped Kai to remove his school polo, the younger wincing at the pain it took just to move. Then D.O. started cleaning the wound. Kai hissed in agony.

“It hurts, hyung.”

“I know Kai, I know. But you’re strong, aren’t you? The best dancer in all of South Korea? This is nothing to Kim Kai, am I right?”

“R-right…”

“That’s the Jongin I know.”

Jiyeon watched attentively as Kyungsoo cleaned Kai’s wound, all the while giving him supportive words to ease the pain. The two must be really close, Jiyeon thought. Later on, D.O. wrapped Kai in bandages to let the wound heal. Kai had fallen asleep on D.O.’s lap.

“(sighs) He’s asleep. I should probably make some chicken soup for when he wakes up. Do you have the ingredients Jiyeon, or should I go out to buy some?”

“Go out? Are you crazy, oppa? It’s raining quite hard. Speaking of which, dry yourself and get changed into these clothes first. I’m sorry if they’re kind of big; the only male clothes I have are my dad’s. While you change, I’ll check the kitchen for ingredients.”

“Ok. Thank you Jiyeon.”

As Kyungsoo changed in the restroom, Jiyeon looked in the refrigerator. She let out a relieved sigh; the ingredients needed were there. Pretty soon, Jiyeon had placed a pillow underneath Kai’s head, and covered him in a blanket. Then she went to the kitchen to watch Kyungsoo cook.

“Wow. Something smells good in here.”

“Hahaha. You think? Come have a taste, Jiyeonnie.”

Kyungsoo took a spoonful of the soup. He made sure to blow on it; cooling it down a bit before spoon feeding Jiyeon.

“It tastes great!” Jiyeon said happily.

Kyungsoo chuckled. “Then wait a bit until I’ve finished it. I’ll give you a bowl.”

“Thanks oppa~”

Jiyeon sat down at the dining table and played with her phone for a while. She suddenly got a text from Sehun, asking what she was doing. She then replied by explaining the events that happened concerning Kai. Sehun answered by saying he’ll pray for Kai to recover, and that since D.O.’s there, everything will be fine. As Jiyeon read this, she remembered how everyone called D.O. Kai’s “other half.” She thought about it for some time; wondering if now would be the perfect opportunity to ask. She decided so.

When the soup finished, D.O. gave Jiyeon a bowl of it, and made one for himself. They ate silently on the dining table.

After what seemed liked forever, Jiyeon finally broke the silence.

“Kyungsoo Oppa?”

“Yes?”

“I just remembered… you’re always called Jongin’s ‘other half’. Why is that?”

“Oh…”

Kyungsoo took some times to think.

“…It’s a rather long story. Do you mind?”

“No, of course not! I’d love to listen. But if it’s anything like Kai’s, I would understand if you don’t want to share it yet.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “It’s ok. Since you already heard Jongin’s, I might as well be next, right?”

Jiyeon nodded enthusiastically. Kyungsoo began.

“Well, you know how Kai doesn’t have a father figure anymore? Because of the divorce way back when he was young? At that time, we met each other when I saw him dancing Sorry, Sorry secretly and we became friends. Kai was someone who I became very close to.

Probably because he didn’t have a father, and I didn’t have a mother.

My mother died when she was giving birth to me. I grew up without a mom, unlike most people. They always said that mothers were the primary care-takers; but I couldn’t really relate, because all I knew was my dad. I’ve seen my mom in pictures, but I never really knew her. Never got the chance to know what having a mother was like. Strange enough though, I grew up to be just like her. I was inclined to cooking and cleaning; I loved flowers and didn’t really like rough-housing. I guess you could say I wasn’t exactly the manliest guy in the lot.

It was hard for my dad, because whenever he looked at me he would get reminded of my mom. I heard him cry at night, many times. He would go over to the display table, and hold my mother’s picture to his chest as he cried. Whenever I saw that, I thought I was really a burden to my dad. I wished that I didn’t have to remind him so much of mom.

That wasn’t the only trouble too. Since I wasn’t like most boys, I got picked on a lot. They liked to play tag in the playground, or wrestle a bit. I preferred to sit and read a story book, or make sand castles at the sand box. They said I was too quiet; said I was gay. I have nothing against gay people, but they kept on calling me something I wasn’t. They laughed at me; telling me that I was such a girly girl. And as you know, I’m not one for violence, so I ended up crying. They teased me to no end, and started messing with me too.

That was the time I became unsociable. I refused to mingle with others because I was constantly made fun of. I never told my dad anything because I didn’t want to be even more of a burden. I couldn’t speak up for myself; just held everything in because there was no one there for me. I was alone, and that was the fact I had to face. Instead of burdening other people, I thought of just taking all that they hurled at me. My existence wasn’t worth anything anyway, I thought.

This went on for quite a while, until Jongin stepped into the picture.

When we became friends, we started to hang-out more often and he always stood up to those who bullied me. I found out he didn’t have a dad; he found out I didn’t have a mom. We soon realized, as we grew up, that we had traits that complemented each other. He was more on the protective and firm side. I was more on the quiet and reserved side. Naturally, EXO started teasing us about being “two halves of a whole,” but we didn’t really mind; it was kind of true, in a way.

Kai’s like a brother to me, and by the way he acts, I sometimes forget who’s older. He helped me to realize that I wasn’t really a burden to my father; dad was simply not over losing his wife. I came to realize Jongin was right; as time passed, my dad grew proud of me as I learned to cook just by using cookbooks and the cooking channel. He liked the fact that I could keep the house tidy, and preserve mom’s garden. Jongin reminded me I had value, like every human that God created.  I was so thankful to the Lord; and even more when EXO came to my life.

Things got better. And now here we are today.

I’m also glad I met you, Jiyeon (^_^). It’s always nice to have people who care.”

“Aww… thanks Kyungsoo Oppa. I had no idea things were hard for you before. But I’m glad you’re happier now. Thanks so much for sharing your story with me.”

“Thank you yourself. See? You weren’t the only one who had a hard time making friends, hahaha. I spent my early childhood avoiding bullies.

EXO’s really been an amazing support to me. Especially when we exchanged stories. I learned that my story wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. You should hear from the others. Especially Chanyeol. But remember, he’ll tell you when the time is right.”

“Yeah... I want to get to know all of you. You are all such wonderful friends.”

“So, now that I’ve spilled the beans, how about you share your story with me? I’d like to listen and learn more about you, Jiyeonnie.”

“Sure, oppa. I’d love to tell you. It’s not really as heavy as yours, but it’s my story, so I hope you’ll listen well.”

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Oh my, I just updated after an eternity >_< hahaha. Hopefully, I'll be able to do so consistently~ Been a while, everyone :D How are you guys?