[ONE MONTH LATER]

                Time off. That's one thing none of us ever expected to hear. But we had it. And we were going to embrace it. Time off. I may bury my head in music every day, but just those two words were like music to my ears...

                Since two weeks seemed like a decent amount of time, all the girls decided to go back to their hometowns for at least a week. I was happy for them to go, because it seemed like forever since I was able to spend time alone.

                "Unnie, won't you be lonely?" asked Ruby.

                "No, I'll be fine," I said. "Kris Oppa will still be here."

                "Didn't you say you were going back to China to visit his mother?" asked Jaekyung.

                "No, his mother is actually coming here," I said. "I was surprised to hear. But it'll be good for both of us."

                Initially, I thought Kris was the one who was bringing his mother to visit Seoul. But when I asked, it turned out that she was actually bringing herself! That actually surprised him more than it surprised me.

                Later that morning, after the members finished packing, I saw all of them off at the bus station. Kimi was the last to leave.

                "Unnie, you still have one schedule, don't you?" she asked me.

                "Yeah, just tomorrow afternoon," I said. "But look, don't worry about me. Just say hi to your parents for me."

                "OK," said Kimi. "I'll bring back my Omma's home cooked bibimbab."

                "Thanks, but don't trouble yourself," I said. "Behave yourself, yeah?"

*

                As I sat on the subway back to HQ, Kris' text message snapped me out of my imagination.

From: Cowboy

                I hear your members are off home. Where are you headed?

To: Cowboy

                HQ. Just thought I'd clean up some stuff in the studios and sort them out. Why? I thought your last schedule wasn't until tomorrow.

From: Cowboy

                We need to talk. I'll meet you at HQ. Where are you now?

To: Cowboy

     About five minutes away on the subway. Why? What's happened?

From: Cowboy

                I'll explain when I see you. Just wait in your rehearsal room. I'll meet you.

                By the nature of the conversation, it didn't seem like it was good news. Most of our texts were usually much longer than this. But I complied with his request and just made my way to SM HQ.

                Nervously, I passed through the corridors, take glances into each studio that I passed. Luckily, everyone looked preoccupied enough to not notice my nervousness.

                Once EXO and Crescere had finished promotions, the plan was to spend as much time with our families or each other as possible. I assumed EXO had the same idea. In fact, I heard that members like Baekhyun and D.O. had already left for their hometowns. But my instincts were telling me that whatever Kris and I had in mind was about to be totally ruined.

                I had intended to go into our recording studio, but since Kris told me the rehearsal room, there wasn't much for me to sort through, because it was completely empty. It was also eerily quiet until he burst through the room.

                "Ren!" he exclaimed, gasping for breath.

                "Oppa, what's going on?" I asked. "What's the hurry?"

                "Ren," he gasped, once again. "Oh, ...!"

                Pulling me into a firm hug, his head landed on my right shoulder. Before I could even comprehend what could have possible happened, Kris began shedding tears.

                "Oppa! Talk to me!" I exclaimed. "What is going on?"

                I pulled him away from me to look at his face. His eyes were already red and his face was also getting red. The tears in his eyes looked full of despair.

                "Oppa? What's happened?" I asked, anxiously.

                Gasping enough air to be able to speak, Kris finally looked me in the eye.

                "My mother..." he sobbed. "She's really hurt..."

                My eyes widened immediately. "Wh--How? What happened?"

                "The hospital didn't tell me," Kris cried. "They just told me she's been hurt..."

                "But that can't be it," I said. "Was she in an accident? Did someone abuse her?"

                "I don't know!" Kris exclaimed hysterically. "I really don't know! I just--!"

                "Hey, hey, no! I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, pulling him back into my arms. "Oppa, she'll be OK. She'll be OK."

                Without even realising myself, my eyes began watering as well, but not as much as Kris. I couldn't blame him though. His only mother...

                "I just--I needed to see you," he gasped softly.

                "No, of course," I said. Letting him go, Kris stood upright again and looked down into my eyes. "But she'll be OK. So...what now? Are you going to Guangzhou?"

                "I'm cancelling my schedule for tomorrow. I'm leaving tonight. I have to be with her."

                "Then I'm coming with you," I said.

                Kris widened his eyes. He gazed into my eyes in slight shock.

                "Are you sure? You can't cancel your schedule though," he said. "I didn't want to ask you because--"

                "I'll talk to my manager," I said. "I'll come with you. She's my mother now, too. And I want to be there for both of you. I won't hang around, but just so she knows I'm there."

                Kris' lips formed a light smile. "I love you..."

                "Come here," I said, once again pulling back into my arms. "I love you, too."

Yes...........i ><"
And i am really sorry for it ><"
But in my defence, the controversies did have something to do with decreasing my motivation
I was debating whether or not to use them for the rest of this fic
But ultimately, it would just ruin it...
And at the same time, I'm just being my own stupid self and neglecting this fic for my other fics
Again, i am really sorry ><"
But i am incredibly surprised that i gained a couple more subscribers during this time...
THANK YOU ^^
And please...i need feedback...