I have a penchant for writing dramatic confessions haha (even though I've never had one lol) 

This is also Xiuhan-centred. With a bit of baekchen. By the way, HECK this baekyeon news I'm still writing baekchen I will always ship baekchen muahahah.

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Leather gloves, check...

Black mask, check...

Smartphone with GPS, check...

"Swiss army knife, check... Lockpick set, check..."

Yifan facepalmed heavily. "We are not going on some spy agent mission, Luhan."

Luhan spun around to glare at him disdainfully. "This is as important as one! My Minseokkie is missing and he awaits my rescue!!"

He turned back to his collection of queer objects spread on the coffee table and continued to check them off. Jongdae sat beside him, poking at the objects with great curiosity.

"Why is this called a Swiss Army knife, Luhan?"

"Because..." Luhan furrowed his brow. "I have no idea, to be honest."

Jongdae fiddled with it for a while, pulling out at least a dozen different blades. He dropped it on the table and sat back in shock. "Alien!" He shrieked.

Baekhyun came out of the bathroom the next moment, freshly showered. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes," Yifan nudged Luhan to start packing all his things, and he glanced at his watch. "Is Chanyeol and Sehun coming?"

Baekhyun shook his head with a pout. "Nope, Chanyeol has an important networking function to attend, and Sehun's going with him."

Yifan nodded. "Let's head off then."

They all left Baekhyun's apartment and went down to the car park where Yifan's car was waiting. Yifan instructed Jongdae to sit at the front with him.

"Why?" Jongdae still had a thing about cars, especially after the horror car ride he experienced with Yifan a month and a half ago.

"Because you're leading the way."

"I am leading the... WHAT?!"

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"He should be waking up soon. His eyelids are twitching."

"Why are you staring at his eyelids?"

"I wasn't! I just happened to look at his face- oh he's awake."

Minseok blinked sleepily, suddenly aware of two large faces peering down at him. Now that the blond-haired duo had their sunglasses off, Minseok could study their faces properly.

"Good morning!" The chubbier face burst into a bright grin. He was the shorter one with the kid-like hairstyle.

"He still looks traumatized..." The other man with the cool hairstyle pursed his lips and shrugged. Minseok squinted at him and wondered why he looked so familiar.

He sat up and scanned his surroundings, which was unsurprisingly the exact same setting as the one he was in the night before. "Where am I?"

The shorter man stepped closer and offered him a hand. "This is our lab, and we are scientists. My name is Suho."

Minseok accepted Suho's hand half-heartedly, and nearly squeaked in shock when Suho grabbed it back with surprising force, shaking it vigorously.

"And I'm Tao." The taller man didn't bother to shake his hand. He yawned sleepily and started studying one of the posters on the wall.

"I demand an explanation as to why I am here and what do you want from me." Minseok retracted his hand and folded his arms crossly, eyes darting from Suho to Tao.

Suho nodded, and went over to Tao, whispering something into his ear. Tao rolled his eyes and left the room immediately. Suho turned to Minseok with a friendly smile. "It's only fair that you get a proper elaboration of our project. Follow me."

Minseok got off the stretcher and trailed Suho out of the room, into that waiting room of sorts that he saw the previous night. Suho didn't stop there - he beckoned Minseok towards a large elevator towards the side.

"I'm bringing you to our main laboratory now. Do not be alarmed - it might all seem a little overwhelming to you."

Overwhelming?

The lift reached the destined floor, and Suho waved him out. "You'll understand when we get there."

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Jongdae shifted a little to his right, and then left, and finally nodded firmly.

"I am hundred percent sure Minseok was standing right here yesterday!" He declared. "But how is that going to help our search?"

Baekhyun came up beside him, patting his shoulder. "Of course it helps! You see-" he pointed upwards at a traffic safety camera filming the streets, "that can help us to obtain the car plate number of any potential vehicle that could have picked Minseok up."

Jongdae stared at it emotionlessly. "How is that grey box of any use?"

"It's a camera! It captures footage of the streets."

Jongdae looked completely baffled. "What for?!"

"Well..." This is going to be hard. "It helps to record any accidents or unacceptable behavior that might happen near the bus stop. It is just a safety measure that the traffic police have set up."

Jongdae turned up his nose at the innocent traffic camera. "Technology..." He scoffed.

Baekhyun bit back a grin, and nudged his side. "Hey, it might be the only lead to find your Teacher Minseok, you know..."

Jongdae's eyes widened. "Really?!" He spun around and grabbed Baekhyun's shoulders tightly. "How do we get hold of the tape, then?"

"Umm..."

Meanwhile, Yifan was gawking in amazement as Luhan expertly infiltrated into the traffic police security system with his Ipad. He scrolled through the list of traffic safety camera footages recorded on the previous day.

"How did you even do that?!" He wheezed.

Luhan shrugged. "I have my connections." He keyed in the bus stop number, and the footage popped out immediately.

Yifan looked up to see Baekhyun approaching, with Jongdae hot on his heels.

"What is Luhan doing?" Baekhyun tried to peer into the screen. Luhan dragged his finger along the slider, trying to find the right moment to start playing the footage.

"He just broke into the traffic police security website!" Yifan turned to glare at him as if he was contemplating to turn his ex-mentor in to the police.

"Can't you just access the normal website?" Baekhyun asked, confused.

"Can't," Luhan mumbled, eyebrows knitted in concentration. "They only broadcast live footages... Over here!"

Everyone squeezed themselves behind Luhan as he replayed the video segment. Minseok was standing alone beside the bus stop for approximately three minutes before a sleek grey minivan approached him.

"That's it!" Yifan exclaimed. "What's the car plate number?"

Baekhyun whipped out his phone and jotted down the number while Luhan took a screenshot of the car. Jongdae set his chin onto Baekhyun's shoulder and sighed.

"Can somebody tell me what is going on? What is a car plate? Cars cannot fit on plates..."

"Later," Baekhyun whispered to him, trying to ignore the rush of nervousness of having Jongdae leaning on him. Now is not the time to get distracted. "So Luhan, what do have to do now?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me." A confident smile spread across Luhan's face, but there was a hint of genuine worry reflected in his eyes. 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

The laboratory was something Minseok had never imagined could ever exist in the world. Then again, many things presented itself as extremely queer to him in the 21st century, like cars and handphones and shopping malls.

But this is different.

"This is the lab Tao and I work in," Suho explained as he brought Minseok around the room. State of the art equipment filled the lab, with flashing lights and low hums emitted from the various machinery. The place was happening, it was bright and busy, and yet there was no one about except for them.

Minseok was amazed.

"We are neuroscientists, we study the brain and how various parts function. We are interested in how different groups of people behave in relation to their brain structure." Suho stopped in front of a large chart. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a very complex map, something like the train map of Seoul but far more complicated.

"What is that?"

"That?" Suho beamed happily at it, and reached over to tap it. Almost all at once, the chart started glowing, and different colored lights streaked across the map, colliding and blending together at the centre.

"This is my creation. It's my interpretation of the nerve wiring in a human brain."

Minseok's jaw dropped. "Wiring? Human brain?"

Tao appeared alongside him, dressed in a white lab coat. He handed a similar-looking one to Suho, who gave him a knowing look in return. Rolling his eyes with a sigh, Tao went round and helped Suho put on his lab coat.

"We need your help here, Minseok. What we are trying to do is to observe the effect of modern technology on brain tissue. And to further our studies by a large leap, we would like to extract a sample of your brain matter for tests. Because you, Kim Minseok of the Balhae era, have been completely untouched by technology until you arrived here, am I right?"

Minseok took a shaky step backwards, and he began to feel jittery and nervous again. "H-how do you k-know a-all this?"

Tao grinned, tapping his temples with his index fingers. "We are mind readers."

"Shut up, Tao," Suho instructed curtly. Tao chuckled and walked away from them to the back of the room. "We have been watching you."

W-watching me?

They have been watching me?!

So there really was someone watching me! I am not seeing things!

 

Minseok was too busy mentally rejoicing in his head, that he failed to notice Suho peering into his face with a weirded-out look.

"Why are you smiling? You like being watched?"

"No!!" He yelled in response, cheeks flushing pink. "Uh, I mean, I have been noticing a presence following me around ever since a couple of weeks ago..."

"...And you thought you were going mad?" Suho cut in. Minseok glared at him angrily, as the scientist clutched his stomach, doubling over with laughter.

 

Tao returned with a tray covered with a cloth. "So do you agree to help us then?"

"Wait," Suho shushed him again, wiping at his eyes, "I haven't told him what he would get in return."

"I'll get something in return?" Minseok echoed, taken by surprise.

Tao snorted, and Suho ignored him. "Of course! I said we're rescuing you right?"

Yes he did... Wait... By rescue, did he mean...

"You help us, we help you. If you agree to this experiment, we will take you back home."

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

In a desolate, empty car park, a black Hyundai silently pulled up next to a grey minivan.

"This is the one!!" Luhan cheered. Yifan still looked traumatized, Baekhyun sleepy, and Jongdae extremely carsick.

"I think I am going to puke..." He clutched his stomach and moaned.

"Yifan hyung! I told you not to go too fast!" Baekhyun scolded him, while holding a paper bag to Jongdae's face.

"He was going too slow," Luhan retorted, throwing open the door and hopping out. "Come on, we have no time to waste!"

He went to the side and yanked open the rear passenger door. Jongdae shakily pulled himself out of the vehicle, and promptly threw up on the sidewalk.

"At least not in my car," Yifan heaved a sigh of relief.

Baekhyun rubbed his back and pushed the hair out of his eyes. "Hey, are you feeling better?"

Jongdae groaned and nodded. "I suppose so..."

Luhan handed him a wad of tissue before turning toward the faculty building in the distance. "Guys, this is it. Let's go and rescue Minseok!"

The four men headed towards the building, and entered it easily. Luhan swiped his head from left to right, amazed.

"Wow, I thought we would have to put up a fight, or something."

Yifan facepalmed again. "What in the world has our embarrassing hyung been watching on TV..."

They reached the reception counter, and came face to face with a pleasant young lady.

"Hello! How may I help you?"

Baekhyun produced the notepad and showed her the car plate number. "We need to speak to the owner of this vehicle, please."

She pursed her lips in disappointment. "I would love to help you, but the owner of this vehicle is an extremely busy man, he only meets people on an appointment basis only."

"Busy?! Appointment?!" Luhan shrieked furiously. "If he's so free, why does he go around kidnapping innocent people off the streets?!"

The lady stood up instinctively and gaped in alarm. "E-excuse me?"

"We need to see him urgently, just let us up, please!" Yifan urged her.

The lady flailed her arms around in a rather unprofessional way, and she was clearly in distress. "I know Suho can't possibly be kidnapping people!"

Suho? That's his name? That idiot, Luhan thought while gritting his teeth. He's gonna get it from me!

Jongdae suddenly stepped up towards the front desk, after spending the bulk of the confrontation standing quietly behind. He still looked a little pale from the car ride, but his jaw was set and and eyes determined.

"Please let us go up, miss. A very important friend of ours is missing, and all evidence points to Suho now. If we have made a mistake, we deeply apologize, but right now we need to see him to confirm our suspicions. Please."

He bowed solemnly all the way, and remained in that position.

 

Baekhyun's eyes widened and he was stunned into shock. Was this the same person who whined to be entertained just weeks ago? Was this the same person who threw tantrums, who talked rashly, who didn't care about anyone but himself?

He hasn't realized how important Minseok was to Jongdae, until then. Minseok might have been a mere caretaker to him, a playmate and an advisor, someone that was always around him since he was a young child. But deep inside, Minseok was his only pillar of support. Unable to bond with his parents, separated from his siblings to be given Crown Prince training, there was no one in Jongdae's life he could depend on, except Minseok.

 

"Oh dear..." The lady murmured, stricken. "Get up, and don't cry, please don't!"

Jongdae straightened and went to stand beside Baekhyun, rubbing his eyes.

"Alright then... But don't cause any trouble." She handed them an access card, which Luhan accepted gratefully.

Baekhyun took Jongdae's hand and squeezed it lightly. "You were so brave," he whispered. Jongdae smiled wistfully and said nothing, but tightened his grip around Baekhyun's hand.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Home.

Home...

Go back home.

To Balhae. Go back to Balhae.

"We have a friend who has this time travel technology," Suho was saying, "It was cool and all, but he wasn't willing to bring someone back from the past to facilitate our experiment. So we have to find our own means. That's how we came across you, and your little brother Kim Jongdae."

"He's not my brother..." Minseok murmured, his mind still in a thick haze.

"We noticed that both you and him have been kidnapped into the 21st century and are being held captive here, am I right? By that Luhan dude, or something. It was easier to follow you and that Luhan dude around, as compared to Jongdae, because he is constantly surrounded with so many people - that tall grumpy guy and the pixie eared guy and the rainbow haired guy..."

Tao removed the cloth on the tray, revealing a set of pristine-clean, sterile set of surgical instruments. Suho picked up a scalpel, and Minseok started to back away instinctively.

"No, you will not send me back... How will you, after you butcher up my brain into a hundred pieces?!" Minseok's voice got increasingly high pitched as his fear heightened.

Suho shook his head, advancing closer. "No we won't, it's just a small slit on the skull and then we will suction out a small amount of brain matter."

Slit? Suction? Minseok felt a lump form in his throat.

"Don't worry, you will heal in no time, and then we will send you back to Balhae safe and sound-"

 

 

There was a loud deafening bang as the main doors of the lab swung open.

"Stop right there you brutal kidnapper! I will bust your brains out!!"

Luhan... It's Luhan!

 

Luhan sprinted up to them, swiftly dodging the sets of machinery that stood in his way. Suho barely had time to drop his jaw in surprise before the scalpel was flying out of his hand, falling onto the floor with a clatter.

Yifan appeared from behind and grabbed Suho, while Jongdae and Baekhyun made their way over to Tao. Baekhyun stopped and squinted at Tao for a long while. "You look remarkably like the guard Huang Zitao from Balhae."

Minseok blinked, and suddenly it dawned on him. That's why he looked familiar...

"How did you get in here?" Suho cried, wriggling desperately against Yifan's steel-like hold.

"Keep quiet, or I will slay you in twelve different ways!" Luhan spun around and pointed his Swiss Army knife at Suho. The scientist cringed and pressed his lips firmly shut.

"Luhan..." Minseok began, feeling his voice choke up with emotion. Luhan... he came all the way here to find me!

Luhan turned to him, and all at once the hardness in his eyes melted into desperation and fear. The knife slipped from his fingers as he cautiously stepped towards Minseok.

 

"Minseok... I'm sorry if I've treated you badly in the past. I'm sorry if I've hurt you or made you unhappy, or if I've creeped you out with my weird ways. I'm sorry for kissing you that day- I know I shouldn't have, I... I just can't help it." His eyes filled with tears. "I heard... I heard that person saying that he would send you home. Minseok, it's okay that you want to go home, I can understand. It must have been horrible living with me, stupid, selfish me who only cared about myself..."

Minseok opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was too shocked to speak. Luhan has misunderstood the whole situation! But I do not know how to stop him, now that he's on a roll...

"I won't stop you from going, Minseok, but... It's been a nice almost-three months of knowing you and hope we can still be friends and keep in t- wait, what am I talking about?" Luhan paused to laugh dryly, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I mean, I hope you won't forget the days we spent together and... the coffee-making lessons and... all the... times we..." He started to sob uncontrollably, falling to the ground on his knees.

"I can't do this... I can't... I like you so much..."

 

Minseok felt rivulets of tears trickle down his cheeks. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, his limbs felt numb, and worst of all, his mind was blank.

What are you supposed to do when someone, who happens to be your crush and had just misread the entire situation, confesses to you?

The world around seemed to fade into nothing, the only thing he was aware of was that Luhan was kneeling a few metres away from him, and in tears.

His natural instinct kicked in. Falling to his knees as well, Minseok enveloped the professor in his arms. "Luhan... You are the craziest person in the whole world."

Luhan clung onto him, sniffling, as he buried his face into Minseok's neck.

"I never agreed to go back, silly. I am not going anywhere, I am staying right here, with you."

Luhan pulled back to look at him, and his expression was a mixture of puzzlement and relief. "You aren't? You really aren't?"

"Nope," Minseok reassured him with a smile, and sealed the promise with a kiss.

 

 

"Aww..." Tao wiped away the misty droplets from his eyelashes.

"Wait, so it's all a mistake? You guys aren't holding him captive?" Suho turned to Yifan, who had thankfully loosened his grip.

Yifan rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the one holding him captive?"

"While it's true that I did bring him and Jongdae here, we weren't holding him captive or anything of that sort," Baekhyun reasoned. "I mean, if he wanted to go back, we would allow him to, I guess..."

"Minseok doesn't want to go back," Jongdae countered. "He loves Luhan."

"Precisely."

Suho scratched his head and sighed, defeated. "All right then, it's my fault." He looked towards the large brain wiring chart and pouted sadly.

"Who are you anyway?" Yifan studied his getup and cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm Suho," Suho sighed. "The neuroscientist with big dreams, that are just about to get crushed. I want a sample of brain matter from a person who have come from the past, to study how technology has affected human brains."

"There is also my brain." Jongdae quipped silently.

Suho brightened up. "Thank you, Jongdae!"

"I never said I would help you."

Suho's face fell again.

 

 

Luhan broke away first, panting. Minseok's face was inches from his own, and very, very red.

Oh my heavens, what just happened?

Luhan blinked rapidly, and rubbed his eyes. Did what I thought happened really happen?

"Uhh..." He stared into Minseok's eyes, which stared unblinkingly back at him. As the seconds ticked by, it began to feel a little awkward...

Minseok finally smiled, prodding him lightly on the forehead. "You kissed me, I kissed you. Now we are even," he asserted with a chuckle.

Luhan felt a smile growing on his face. "Of course. Of course you'd want to get even with me. Even if I'm clearly the one with the higher status."

"Yeah?" Minseok was grinning so widely that his face could split. "You are a professor, I'm a scholar, on an educational level, our statuses are equal."

Luhan rolled his eyes with a huff. "Beg your pardon? I daresay I'm smarter."

 

From the sidelines, Yifan nudged Baekhyun. "I think Minseok is becoming the second Luhan. Luhan hyung has totally brainwashed him."

"I think that is a good thing, though." Jongdae added. Yifan turned to grin at him, and they shared a hi-five.

Baekhyun sighed. "How is that a good thing?" He stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Um if we are done, can we all just go home?"

"Wait, you're going?" Suho was still pouting.

Yifan handed him his name card. "Contact me soon, it's nice to be acquainted with a neuroscientist."

Suho groaned. "But-"

Tao held him back. "It's a happy ending to their story, Suho hyung! Don't be the evil stepmother and wreck their happiness!"

"Well said! Um..." Baekhyun hesitated.

"Tao, I'm Tao."

"Oh gosh, even your name sounds like the guard in Balhae."

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Today had affected me more than I thought it would. Seeing Luhan selflessly barge his way into the room to save Minseok, not knowing what would happen if he did but still taking the risk, all because he is worried about Minseok and wants him to be safe.

Why can't I be like that, too? Why am I always so cowardly, always taking a step back and blending into the shadows, letting others finish the job for me? Why can't I step up and make the first move, and prove to everyone that I'm not just running away from the inevitable?

I need to change.

But there's no one to initiate it, except for myself.

 

I have made up my mind.

 

 

 

"Hello, Jongin? It's me, Baekhyun. Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

 

"Jongin, let's break up."

 

---

 

 

Hi guyyyyys lol. This chapter is just. I don't know what to say. But I love dramatic confessions no matter how ridiculous they are. I just find it cute.
I wonder if anyone remembered the awkward guard Huang Zitao from Balhae xD Spoiler: we'll hear more about him in a future chapter.

As much as this is a modern romcom, I want to assure you that I will be making a lot of links to ancient history and Balhae because that's what this whole story is about, kind of. If I use any historical information, I will explain it in the footnote after the story, so don't worry about being confused ^^

Hope you had a good laugh about poor Suho with his dreams crushed lol ;D and to any Kaibaek shippers, I'm sorry *runs away and hides*