--------------------------

As Taeyeon woke up, she felt like every organ in her body were falling apart.

If she could, she'd take a handful of painkillers to numb the pain of her joints and the horrible throbbing in her head. A nurse that walked by noticed her and immediately asked how she was doing. Having no will to give out a proper answer, she only said yes. A moment after, she looked around her surroundings and tried to move her feet but one of them was securely wrapped inside a heavy cast.

Taeyeon had always known that Eunjung was ruthless, but she never expected her to be so.. desperate.

Why would she ambush her? It's quite impossible that the girl was scared of her because Eunjung is from Section 4H- and one of the keenest fighters there too. Taeyeon imagined her to be wiser but reality wasn't as dramatic as her imagination. In real life, Ham Eunjung was just another crazy initiate who is obsessed with surviving.

She looked over to the small table beside the infirmary bed and found a note from Minho, some apples from Jonghyun, and a bunch of Daisies standing in a vase- her favorite. 

It must've been Nana, she thought, spreading a smile.

As Taeyeon reached for one of the apples, she noticed a person shuffling while sleeping in the bed next to hers. She looked at the figure under the blanket concernedly and debated whether she should call the nurse or not because it seemed like the poor thing was having a nightmare.

Suddenly, the blanket was yanked off by the sleeper and a blonde head was seen resting on top of the pillows. The girl felt herself gasp- what was Kris doing there? 

As if on cue, the chinese boy slowly cracked his eyelids open and squinted due to the light. He rolled over to the side and blocked the brightness by covering his head with the pillow. After he was somewhat awake, he supported his body with his wobbly arm and brought himself up to lean his back against the cushion that was blocking him from the wall. Kris looked around the room looking confused and his eyebrows plunged together when he saw Taeyeon next to him.

"Tae- What hap- Where am I?" he said groggily.

She shook her head because she didn't have a clue, and pressed a button instead, making a nurse barge into the room. "Mr. Wu?"

Kris flinched and replied, "Don't call me that, it sounds like what people call my father." he paused, "What happened?"

"We're not really sure ourselves- Although, an initiate found you lying unconsciously in the middle of the hallway and took you here to be aided." the middle-aged nurse explained clearly. After examining Kris further, she left the patients alone.

Having his memories flash back to him, Kris nodded in understanding but didn't say a word about him crying into unconsciousness. Taeyeon gazed at him worriedly and asked, "What happened Kris? Are you okay?"

At that, he scoffed, "Why do you even give a damn?"

"Cause I'm your friend," she said in a hushed tone. Why is he being so mean?

He gave her a straight look and laughed disbelievingly, "Didn't we already make our relationship clear when all of you decided to ditch me?"

Taeyeon's face turned quizzical and she protested, "What do you mean? What happened between you and the section members?"

"You weren't there?" Kris asked. Come to think about it, the girl was absent when he and their section-mates had that little talk. Either that, or she was there but he was just too tired to notice.

"I wasn't," she clarified, "But I know what happened- more or less."

He sighed and massaged his temples, "So, do you hate me too now?" he questioned hopelessly.

To his surprise, she shook her head 'no' and said in a matter-of-factly way, "Why should I? It wasn't your fault; I heard it was your father. And besides, it's not like you were the one who murdered them." Taeyeon paused her speech, "You didn't know about this before, did you?"

"No, I didn't." he stated.

She nodded and clicked her fingers, "See? So it's not you who's to blame."

"Why do you believe me?" he asked, exasperrated. In response, she just smiled at him. "We haven't known eachother for the longest time, but I know enough about you. And I believe that you are a great person. You wouldn't do such things- I guess I trust you."

"Y-you do?" Kris stuttered, "...Thanks."

When she didn't reply him, he studied her condition and was shocked at how sick she looked. "Hey, what happened to you?" 

Slightly shocked by his sudden question, she flinched and then laughed. For the next half-an-hour, she told him all about the accident featuring Eunjung and how the girl challenged her into a battle. At the end of her story-telling, Kris' eyes were as round as saucers. "When is it going to be?" he asked her.

"Umm.. two weeks later? I mean- Eunjung and I kind of have to heal first before we try to get eachother's throats." she said, laughing darkly. He took a deep breath before mumbling, "I have to quickly act then.." 

Hearing that, Taeyeon's ears perked up. "What did you say?"

"Kim Taeyeon, do you actually trust me?"

Confused, she nodded. "Yes, I do. Why?"

"I have a plan. Do you know anyone else that might have faith in me?" he interrogated again, making her think up of answers. After a while, she smiled and said, "Minho would. He has his own doubts but deep down- he will always believe in his friends."

Kris contemplated her suggestion seriously, "Fine, then. He'll do."

"Um, may I ask what your plan is? I mean- I am going to be a part of it.." she trailed off unsurely. He smiled sincerely and spoke, "Sure. I'll tell you my infamous plan. But if you decide to go with it, you have to be certain of my loyalty. Can you do that?"

"Yes." she answered in short. "Now, what was your plan again?"

"Simple; We are going to meet my father."

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That afternoon, Jonghyun was busy hogging some potato chips by himself in Myungsoo's room as they played a video game with some car-crashing and gun-fighting, the usual stuff.

"Myungsoo, pass me the soda." Jonghyun ordered, his eyes still fixated on the large screen.

The latter shrugged as he continued playing in focus, "Can't. Go do it yourself."

"Yah! Help me out! The bottle is right next to you- and I can't let my guard down- that guy over there has his gun fixed on me." He whined. Myungsoo glanced at him ignorantly and smirked, "Your loss."

The agitated boy pouted, "More like yours. In case you've forgotten, I am in your team."

"Aish- I don't care! Take it yourself Kim Jonghyun." He sternly announced.

Jonghyun threw a little fit and squirmed around the floor, annoying the other boy. After a few long minutes, Myungsoo decided that he had had enough and exclaimed, "Taemin! You get it for him!"

Realizing what he had just said, the two lads paused their game and turned silent. 

"I didn't even realise.." Myungsoo muttered smally. Jonghyun shook his head and smiled sadly, he had pined for the maknae's presence but this was the first time he realised how dependant they actually were on their youngest member. Everytime the seniors would start an argument, that little brat would always get in the middle and spit out honest words to calm them down. 

Without realising it, Lee Taemin had become their mediocre- the glue that stuck them all together.

Now what would they do without him?

Bora is still going through her depression, Taeyeon is dealing with her new-found, psycho pairing, Nana is growing more and more insecure and Myungsoo realised that she wasn't as lively as before. Minho, Myungsoo and Jonghyun grew aimless- they don't know what to do to make the situation better and are way beyond confused. As for Kris, they don't know what was conflicting him but whether it was his father or him, they just can't trust him any further.

Section 8A is slowly falling apart.

"How are we going to go on like this?" Jonghyun whispered, "Losing each of our members one by one.. Is this what life is?"

Hearing that, the other boy shook his head in defeat. There was nothing he could do to console his friend. We all know Myungsoo wasn't much of a talker. For a couple of moments, the two basked in the quietness, finding both peace and remorse in the atmosphere. "This dorm is such a mess," Myungsoo commented out of no where, "I wish the maknae was still here so I could boss him around to clean it."

Jonghyun chuckled and joined in, "I could also force him to do my laundry."

"And the dishes," Myungsoo chimed in.

"Or get the groceries-"

"Oh, and don't forget the clogged toilets."

Jonghyun cringed, "Eww, you made him do that? Atleast I wasn't that hard on him."

"But you bullied him a lot." Myungsoo said good-naturedly

In an instant, Jonghyun's head stooped low as he let out a long sigh. Later, he scratched his head and said, "Yeah- I should've cut him some more slack back then. I was such a jerk."

Myungsoo placed a hand on the other's shoulder, "Oh come on, we all knew that what you did was a sign of affection to him. I sort of think he secretly knows too." he smirked.

"A sign of affection, eh? I guess you can call it that if you want." Jonghyun shrugged.

All of a sudden, the door of their room opened and Bora stepped in impatiently. "Do you guys have beer? Soju? Anything at all?" she voiced out.

The two gamers stayed silent, taken aback by the harshness in the girl's tone. They synchronizingly pointed at the small refridgerator in the kitchen but before Bora could advance further towards it, Jonghyun went ahead and blocked her. "Stop, don't do this to yourself."

She shook her head vexedly, "Do you think I care?"

"You should," Myungsoo scolded. "We know what happened had destroyed you, but this isn't a reason to switch into an alcoholic."

"Then what is?" she asked angrily. "First it was Vic eonni, then it's T-Taemin... and now it's going to be Taeyeon!"

Her statement silenced the two men and they gazed at her with slightly enraged expressions. While Myungsoo was deadly silent, Jonghyun stepped infront of the irritated girl. "That's not true. Don't let these things get to you, Bora-yah. We never know what could happen."

"What do you mean by 'things'?" she asked in a sneer, "Death? It seems like you've grown accustomed to it, Jonghyun-ah."

"Aren't we all?" he bitterly replied. The boy knew he wasn't supposed to make her feel worse but what could he do? She wasn't the only one hurt over here, he was too. "You know what, suit yourself. Go ruin your own body. We have tried stopping you."

Without anymore words, he walked back infront of the paused video game and started playing again. Myungsoo looked at the melancholic girl and said to her, "Drinking won't wash away the pain, you know. I've tried before."

She blinked at him and tears started forming around her eyes, "Then what do you suppose I do?"

"Join us," he took her hand and guided her infront of the TV. "In this game, you can kill as many virtual people you'd like- Now go and slay."

Jonghyun handed her the other controller absently and she sat down next to them. After learning the basics, she stiffly maneuvered her character around and started shooting stuff. "This is relaxing-" she unconsciously said.

"Now you now why we like to play this when we're stressed." Myungsoo pointed out.

Jonghyun snorted, "Yeah. Sometimes when I feel like beating up Myungsoo, I kick some virtual-dude's instead."

Bora laughed. The first time ever after the tragedy happened. The two guys smiled at her before tackling their buddy in a group hug.

Maybe they were falling apart and perhaps they were in broken pieces. But even though it would take a while, Jonghyun believed that they'll always be able to glue their bond back.

Just like what Taemin had always done for them.

-----------------------------------------

"Taeyeon-ah! Are you alright now?" Nana shouted as she approached the girl, Minho trailing behind her. 

In response, she nodded and flashed a smile, "I'm fine, don't worry. Thanks for the daisies by the way- I love them."

"Ofcourse you do," her friend winked. At that moment, Minho turned his head around and was shocked when he saw Kris sitting there next to them. "Kris! What happened to you?"

"I fainted in the hallways. Someone brought me here when they found me." 

Nana looked relieved when she noticed him in his conscious state. "So you're alright I see. I was seriously worried, you know."

He knitted his eyebrows, baffled. "What? How did you-?"

"Well- I was the one who, sort of, dragged you here.." she muttered slowly, not meeting his gaze.

"What?" he asked seriously.

She put her hands together and started apologizing, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have dragged your body across the floors like a sack of potatoes but you are just too heavy for me.."

Without any amusement attached, he spoke again, "I don't care about that." He paused, "Did you perhaps- see?"

"See what?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Since when were you there with me?"

Nana tapped her chin, recalling her memory of the incident. "When you had that debate with the others, I decided to follow you after you left to solve out the misundertandings but then you started cryi-"

"Alright, enough." he said urgently, cutting her off. "So you did witness it.."

Fed up of staying silent, Minho spoke up, "Alright, whatever. Are you feeling okay now?" he asked the guy. Kris nodded in response.

"Oh, and Nana, don't tell anyone about it please." The chinese boy smiled at her. She gave him a thumbs-up and winked, "Sure thing."

After a while, Kris looked at each one of them and let out a breath before saying, "Since you're the ones I trust most- I guess I can tell you my plan now."

Nana and Minho gave eachother confused looks before turning to Taeyeon, who shrugged at them. "Tell them, Kris."

"Tell us what?" They asked in unison.

As a form of reply, Kris smirked.

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 Author's note: I know I'm one day late but better late than never- right? Happy Birthday Wu YiFan/ Kris/ Jiaheng/ Kevin Li / K.Li/ Kriscasso.. and all of the other names I don't remember. Love you!! I will always support you gege ♡♡♡

Btw did you guys see how sad he looked when they showed him a video of EXO-M on his birthday? I cried so hard, man.

Here's a few pictures if you havent:

I CANT ANYMORE. WHAT IS LIFE ASDFGHJKL