Nouf in some sense can be patient.
She can endure endless queues from fast-food chains. She doesn’t complain with the flaws her living have. The always delayed payment of the organization responsible for her scholarship for instance. She is unwearied of every task their professors hand them. She can easily tolerate things when she knows it’s for something better or best.

She really can.

But for now she forgets how patient she is. She needs the guys back now. No scratch that. She wants the guys back safely now.

It’s been almost an hour since Sehun rushed to tell Chanyeol of a sudden visitor. Well not just any visitor.

“I’ll get this whole floor free from any civilians. We’ll be back in no time don’t worry.”

Chanyeol left her with a reassuring smile that Nouf doubts to be enough for she still keeps on fidgeting on whatever nears and touches her tentacles. She’s restless for more than an hour now. She tries distracting herself from watching some random shows but the thought just won’t budge. She squirms on the remote control only to stop on CNN where a dispute between two notorious drug syndicates was being reported. It says that the two groups get to involve and kill many innocent people during their sudden confrontation.

“Just their assemblage is oppressive so do as the dispute between them.” Says the TV reporter just in time when Nouf pressed the power button.

Of course this Big thingy isn’t illegal and is certainly authenticated but it’s the wrangle down there that makes her pull almost all her hair. This will surely take her sanity now.

“Nouf!” Her hold on her hair in both sides were still firm when Chanyeol tapped her on one of her shoulders. She looks up only to see an OKAY but baffled Chanyeol.

“What are you doin— Chanyeol!!! Chanyeol!! Thank goodness you’re alright!!” Chanyeol was stunned when her embrace caught her in an instant. She jumped on one shot only to reach his giant height, and Chanyeol luckily managed to bend his knees to prevent her from tiptoeing too much.

“Kai? Sehun? Where are they?” She pulls him even harder that Chanyeol thought he might just die by the way his heart pumps extra irregularly. He thinks it’s working exaggeratingly that he has enough supply of blood that his heart just keeps on pumping.

“T-They’re outside still with the Russian I guess.” That made Nouf pull out from the embrace she wasn’t even aware of. Maybe she was just so worried that his sudden beam caused her to jump on him for an anxious hug.

“W-What?!” She asked, giving the lad a look of confusion.

Nouf does notice Chanyeol’s sudden shift of face. His eyes were beaming again just the usual when he gets excited.

He gulps. “I have a very good news for you.”

Nouf doesn’t know but the word good news makes her breathing heavy and stiff. What could it be for me to feel suddenly worried?

“Guess what.” He teased and Nouf has to swear she doesn’t like Chanyeol playing games right now. She’s seriously serious now.

Chanyeol waited for what seems like a minute or two but she never gave her the enthusiasm he was expecting so he decided to continue.

“You’ll be going home Nouf. You can go back to Seoul now!” Nouf wasn’t even sure if Chanyeol was trying to make his statement sound pleasant but she never ignored that tang of solitude.

“W-what do you mean?” Nouf stammers but tried to cover it with whatever charm of invisibility she thinks she has. Of course she knows what Chanyeol is talking about. Of course it regards to the auction and the Russian Big’s who’s after her. But NO it can’t be. Nouf doesn’t want those things to happen yet. Not yet. He wants Chanyeol to say other things, but her opposed thoughts was then halted when Chanyeol speaks up again.

“Remember that old man who raised his bid before I was announced as the winner?” Nouf tries to calm herself and nod nonchalantly.

“He was Russian Big’s representative. Just like me. He went with his Russian men to see me knowing I’m SK’s representative. They wanted to clean their Big’s reputation.” Chanyeol reaches for her hands. But Nouf doesn’t have the time to notice that, now that one of her newly discovered greatest fear is coming.

“It was just all a misunderstanding Nouf. Those prowling from outside weren’t from Russian’s they’re from other Bigs’ which we trace for now as from either Japan or Chinas’. We’re not that sure about it so I immediately called my father to inform this thing.” Nouf just stayed silent, still running out of words to supervise her thoughts.

“Based from the Russian’s investigation, some Bigs are trying to bring us down, knowing SK and Russia are two of the most influential and dominant ones. They seemed to be threatened and want us down…. This may sound stupid but I guess we over interpreted things. You were never endangered Nouf. You’re completely safe. You can go home now!” Chanyeol may not notice it but Nouf almost wanted to cry and slap Chanyeol in the face. He keeps on repeating those words of going home.
Going home. It just makes her feel so immaterial to him. Does he really like to get rid of me that much?

“Nouf? You okay?” He asks when she gave him nothing in reply over his novel like explanation.

Nouf has to snap out of her thoughts though. She really wants to scream until she rips of too much yelling. But she can’t just let Chanyeol know how broke she is.

“Y-yeah! I’m fine. I-I just can’t believe that I can finally go home now.”

Go home.

The words just sound so good in her ears. But what does home even means to her? Is it a place where she gets to wake up at seven in the morning and prepare for school? A place where she gets to spend all her time scribbling words and numbers on her notes even during midnights? NO. Home is something more. Something where she digs up on her comfort. A place where she finds herself staying up so late just to watch movies with Sehun, Kai and Chanyeol. A place where she wakes up meeting large sparkling eyes that twitches every time she passes by the bathroom. A place where she has people she can consider as home.

She’s been living all by herself since she lost both her parents in a car accident. An aunt not that close to her kept her and forced her to work for her. Although she let Nouf stay under her care, she always abuses her until Nouf goes with her urge of running away and that’s when she stumbled on Chen in Seoul. Since then Chen became her family. A loving rent collector who treated her like his own biological sister. Nouf wasn’t demanding though. But sometimes she just feels that her life after she was left by her parents at the age of 4 was never enough for her to identify what home feels like.

“I know right. Oh and by the way Baekhyun’s on his way now to fix things relating to your flight back.”

“Oh, I see. Thanks.” Of course she does want to go back to Korea. It is where her real living is. It is where she planned herself to get married and sprout her own family. But things went madly crazy that she thinks how fast things are right now. She can’t keep up, or maybe she’s just not keeping up.

“I-I think I need to go to the bathroom.” It was like Nouf’s in a trance that she doesn’t want to let go. But then no matter how strong she keeps on keeping on that trance it would always let go of itself leaving her from what it turns to be reality.

“O-Okay. I’ll go back now then, I just came here to check you out and let you know that everything’s perfectly doing fine.”

Chanyeol turns his back as he heads to the doorway, and Nouf calls him out.

“C-Chanyeol!” She gives up on fighting the staggering strain inside her. Chanyeol then turns to look on her as he waits for her to continue.

Do really want to throw me that much? “I—you….” Am I not that important to you? “No—I mean..” Do you even know how much I like you? “You’re so stupid!” That summarizes everything Nouf wants to say.

However, Nouf has never expected Chanyeol’s reaction. “I know.” He chuckled. “I’m so stupid all this time for thinking the Russian’s really after you.” Nouf nearly burst everything she’s been keeping, but something says different at the back of her mind. Just forget about it Nouf.

“Right.” She chose to utter.

Baekhyun did go to Chanyeol’s hotel a couple of hours after that. He said he already informed Chen that she’s finally going back and that he’s going to see her soon. Sure enough, Nouf misses Chen and that she’s excited to see him again but just the simple thought that her flight’s in a week makes her limbs go weak. She’s going to miss and treasure this unplanned trip so much.

A trip that started off awkwardly and uneasily and is now about to end still uneasily. Well just for her maybe. She’s not sure about the others.

“I’m sorry, you’re flight’s still in a week. I don’t know why flights heading to Seoul are too much loaded this week.” Baekhyun rubs his nape for this.

“It’s okay. At least I get to bid my goodbye for you guys properly. I mean, I’m really thankful to have you all. You make me feel something I never felt before.”

“Nah. It’s our mistake in the first place.” Baekhyun laughs but he noticed how Nouf wasn’t and instead wears a face of dimness so he stretches the corners of her lips up with his splendid fingers and gives her a ridiculous command of joining his laugh. “When I laugh people with me should also do the same.”

In the end, Nouf grants him a laugh, the sarcastic one.

“And oh one more thing, I have Chen in contact so we could just meet whenever we want..as well as Chanyeol.” He gives her a glance, obviously checking her reaction. “And besides Chanyeol’s going back to Seoul soon with his men. He’s just here for something like a vacation you know. You’ll get to see them again.”

Of course I’ll get to see them again.... or maybe I can’t.

-

Chanyeol has to steady himself after putting his phone down. “Her flight’s in a week, you better make the best out of it.” Baekhyun says a few minutes ago. In a week she’ll be gone. No. He should be keeping her until the end. Isn’t she his? She’s his. Chanyeol thinks on how eager Nouf was to go home and get rid of herself from this country during their early encounters and he’s afraid she still haven’t wiped that fervour to leave. Leave him.

He owns her but why is she leaving?  No. That can’t be. This can’t be.

“You can go in now sir.” A lady shows from the door before leading him inside.

She can wait. He even asked her, though she’s not really conscious that time. But still, he told her to wait for him so she should. Chanyeol just needs to fix himself first. He still needs to work so hard to fix his cluttered life before he could finally tell her how much he loves him. How much he loves her to stay by his side. How much he wants her to set those birds with him. How much he wants her to be officially his.

“I still have 10 minutes to coax you Park Chanyeol.” A man with a mask beams behind him as he fixes something on his back that seems to be something like an apron to Chanyeol’s eyes.

“Just give up already Yixing. Nothing can change my mind anymore.” Chanyeol lays his body on an elevated machine like tube at the center of the white room.

“Even Baekhy—don’t even dare to!” Chanyeol was about to pull himself up but Yixing raised both his hands in defeat.

“But seriously Chanyeol when we tried pushing you to do this, we didn’t mean this sudden and quick.” Yixing heaves a very deep sigh. “This is very dangerous and I believe you’re very much aware of it. This thing doesn’t work that easily like how you demanded me to do it.”

“Tell just when you are going to start this thing.” Chanyeol crosses her arms in his lying position.

“Ahh. Jinjja you really have the hardest head ever.” Yixing sounded in defeat again.

“Tell me then.” Yixing keeps his eyes in front of the computer, while Chanyeol raises a confused response.“Tell you what?”

“What makes you push on this risk all of a sudden?” Chanyeol chuckled. And Yixing has to look at him on that.

“You’ve never been this eager to have my treatments you know.” He brings his head back towards the screen.

“It’s just.." Chanyeol in a breath.  "There’s this someone who’s completely unaware that she should be waiting for me.”

Yiixing rolled his eyes and Chanyeol chuckled again, which is starting to give aggravation to the other guy.

“You’re stupid.”

“I know. No need to tell me that.”

<3