sixteen

It’s like nothing ever happened. I enter classroom the next morning to find Tao at school again and it feels so normal that I can’t help but wonder if everything before now was just a dream.

Of course it’s not.

The day passes and instead of taking lunch alone I have Tao again.

I feel weird about it. I never told Tao that I loved him. I never even apologized for the things I said that prompted him to disappear anyway. So it’s weird to be on the receiving end of his loyalty. I haven’t done anything to deserve it other than play well. But I can’t believe he is a hunter. Despite the fact that after lunch he goes off with Luhan someplace.

They’re friends so that alone should tip me off to the danger. It’s even stranger too that if Luhan is a hunter he still shows his face at our school. Wouldn’t Yesung know who sent the homer? If that were the case the school would be the most dangerous place for Luhan but he seems no different than usual.

Maybe Kai was wrong. Like Yesung said, it was not Luhan who hunted for the gem he wears. Rather it was a hunter named Suho. Nevertheless whether he obtained it or not there is no way I’ll ever join chamber. It’s just far too dangerous. If there is one thing about Yesung that I won’t test it’s his willingness to protect me. He said he doesn’t protect the stupid and I’m inclined to believe him. He’s stronger than Kai, I won’t get on his bad side.

As I leave school that evening I’m half expecting Kai but it’s Tao who is waiting by the gate this time. He’s bright and warm and it’s a relief to have him again by my side. It pleases me yet I know I can’t get as close as my heart desires as long as Luhan stands between us.

I listen to Tao’s chatter as we talk. He’s talking about music in general but my mind can only focus on my current problem.

“How do you know Luhan?” I ask, cutting him off mid-sentence.

“Huh? What do you mean? He’s our senior at school,” he replies and I can tell I threw him off by the way his brow furrows.

“I mean you’re close, right? But how? You’re new just like me.”

“I know all of the Chinese students at our school.”

Was it really something as simple as that? I can’t help but wonder.

“When I enrolled into this school I already knew most of them. I lived here for a year already before auditioning working and studying on my own. I met many of the Chinese students that way. They really helped me.”

It sounded difficult and I say as much but he just shrugs.

“As long as I’m happy now I can forget the past.”

“So are you?” I prompt.

“Huh?”

“Are you happy?”

We stop walking and face each other. He nods and smiles.

“I am much happier than I could ever have imagined.”

“I don’t understand why,” I reply. “What’s there to be happy about?”

“Well for one,” he begins. “I’m here with you, Oh Sehun.”

And I believe him, I do. His eyes are bluntly honest like that of a child. I’d hate to see anything taint him.

I speak.

“What if I told you some of your friends were bad?”

“Bad?” he tilts his head in question.

I nod, and continue walking. He follows.

“Yes, as in maybe a bad influence or they may be involved in… strange things.”

“You’re not like that are you?” Tao looks worried and I quickly correct his line of thought.

“No! Not me,” I shake my head. “Just someone I know says that Luhan may be… not so good.”

His expression darkens, “Kim Jongin doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

I’m alarmed and seek to placate him quickly, “Not just Jongin but… me too. I just get strange vibes.”

“Luhan…” he says the name softly, a blank clouded look entering his eyes.

“Tao?”

He snaps out of it and smiles.

“Don’t worry if you don’t want me to hang out with Luhan anymore I won’t.”

“Wait what?”

I was expecting some protest or maybe for Tao to defend his friend’s character or demand further expiations of what exactly I had heard about the Chinese violinist. Instead however he readily volunteers to cut of relations with the other student without even a bit of guilt.

“If you don’t want me around Luhan then so be it. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do..”

Oh the chills! They run through me at that moment and I suddenly remember why I pushed Tao away initially. I got rid of him once but perhaps it won’t be so easy to do again.

I don’t answer him and we walk nearing the train station. He’s still smiling to himself obviously as happy as he says he is and it’s so unnerving. As we move along a small breeze blows and I chance a glance at our surroundings. It’s dark and there is no one out but us.

However…

I reach out and grab his elbow stopping us both. We stand still and then I whisper.

“Do you hear that?”

We stand absolutely still and listen. I could have sworn I hear something and the way my blood has run cold is dreadfully familiar. A flickering street light illuminated a small bit of the street poorly and I will risk no chances.

“Let’s run,” I command, voice low and I take off down the street pulling him along.

I go as quickly as I can down the next block. I’m frantic, my brain can barely process the information of what’s actually happening. All I can think about is how we can get out of this because I can’t transform with Tao with me nor can I leave him behind.

I turn at a nearby staircase and run up into the nearby park. It’s the same one as before when I told him I’d play for him. We go deeper in and my mind knows that this is dangerous and that we shouldn’t be alone. It’s best to stick to well-lit and crowded places. Regardless of this though my feet are moving as if possessed with a mind of their own and eventually we slow to a stop.

Spent I bend forward, panting with my hands on my knees.

Tao must be in better shape than me. He turns to look behind where we came.

“Something was following us,” he says, not even a bit out of breath.

So he sensed it too? That doesn’t make me feel better. I also noticed he says something rather than someone but I try and dismiss it as just a slip of the tongue.

“But we should be safe now,” Tao finishes.

My gut tells me differently.

“Tao, where do you live?”

I only hope it isn’t nearby. I’d hate for him to be in danger because of me. Then again I have a feeling it would only attack its designated target.

“It’s a bit far,” answers Tao. “I live on the other side of the river.”

The other side. Why was that the source of so much drama lately? I try to reason that him living there does not make him accomplice to whatever may be going on.

“But don’t worry. I’m not leaving you,” he takes my hand. “We’ll walk home together.”

“That’s not necessary,” I assure him but I still return his grasp and we press forward.

We walk deeper into the park intending to cut through to the opposite end where the station is. Then we can both catch the train home. However, the further we go along the more cautious I get. What if it followed us, really? What if Tao’s in danger?

It’s as if my line of thinking sabotaged us. As soon as the thought crosses my mind I hear a rustling not like that of the wind in the trees. It’s like my instinct’s kick in and as soon as the thing drops from the branches above us I grab Tao and pull him to safety. We fall upon the bicycle path and I wince as my shoulder connects with the hard stones. I push myself up, looking down to see if Tao was OK before looking back at the homer.

It looks exactly like the one before and it’s charging in our direction. I don’t have Yesung here this time nor do I even have Ryeowook whose reflexes saved me last time. Now I can only rely on myself to save both me and Tao. I pick myself up off the ground and pull at Tao’s blazer as I do so and he thankfully gets to his feet just as quickly.

“What’s that?” he asks.

There is awe in his voice, but none of the expected fear.

“It’s going to kill us. Come on,” I yell, tugging harder at his sleeve and turning to run.

This time he follows but continues to keep taking glances back. It’s slowing us down and I lose my patience.

“Tao, come on!” I snap but this time when I tug he tugs back bringing us to a stop.

“Are you crazy?” I hiss.

The homer is all but on us now and it’s getting ready to pounce but Tao still doesn’t seem to get it. I try to get him to run away and he only shrugs my hand away, eyes trained on the beast.

Finally with a roar it lunges and in a split second Tao ducks down, whips something out from seemingly nowhere, bouncing back up with arms outstretched and now brandishing a knife. The homer lands right on the blade and Tao then jumps back, dragging the blade up as he does so and then out. One arm is out as if shielding me. The homer screeches as black blood spills out of the wound and splatters over our uniforms before it stumbles backwards a few paces.

“Stay back,” Tao warns me.

I cannot process what’s happening.

The homer catches its bearings and charges again. This time Tao charges as well and as if perfectly timed dodges the swing of the homer’s tail, dipping down and slicing at the back of its legs. The homer falls down after that, club like tail thrashing wildly in the air. Tao dodges it barely, skipping backwards as if to some silent beat.

It’s not dead but it’s briefly incapacitated. Tao rounds the body and grabs my hand.

“Let’s run,” he says.

He doesn’t have to tell me twice but my legs feel so heavy as if my shoes are weighed down by sand. I can barely keep up. I really need to lay down, I feel like I’m going to be sick but Tao keeps us going, guiding me out of the park finally and down into the train station.

Inside the well-lit stairwell I can see his clothes, hands and face splattered with ink like blood. His eyes are wide and alert. He’s even shaking with adrenaline.

“We have to board the train. If we stay here it’ll definitely track us,” Tao says as he slips his knife back under his pant leg.

I agree and we don’t care how crazy we much look, too teens splattered in black. We scan our cards and get on the next train. We can’t even fully relax once boarded. Tao’s still shaking and I wonder how I should comfort him or if it’s even comfort he needs. We lean against the train door, ignoring the stares of other passengers and begin to talk in hush voices.

“That thing—“ he begins.

“You carry a knife with you?” I interrupt.

“Always,” he reaches down to pat his calf.

Well, that’s convenient.

He continues, “Do you know what it was?”

I bite my lip unaware if I should tell him but I do. I nearly got him killed after all.

“It’s a homer.”

“A what?”

“It’s… It’s a demon,” I pause at that to see how Tao is taking it but he’s only staring, prompting me to continue. “Like a dog.”

I merely tell him what Kai has told me.

“And it was after us?”

“After me,” I correct his assumption.

“Are you sure?”

I nod and he sighs, letting his head fall back against the door’s window leaving a dark smear. His eyes close and I reach out to wipe a bit of the blood from his cheek but think twice and let my hand drop down before I can.

He opens his eyes again, lifting his head up as well.

“Oh Sehun, who really are you?”

“What do you mean? I’m just me.”

“But that thing… if you were just a normal guy it wouldn’t be after you.”

“But I am just a normal guy,” I answer, heart rate souring. “You saw how powerless I was against it.”

And for the first time ever Tao eyes me with a bit of suspicion. It’s right there in his ever open gaze. He’s second guessing everything he ever thought about me. I want to hide from his judgment and I find myself speaking before I can even think.

“It’s Luhan!” I say.

His brow furrows.

“He’s been chasing after me. Not just for chamber, but he sent that thing.”

“Luhan,” Tao’s eyes glaze over in that distant way of his.

I nod, continuing on, “That jewel around his neck, the pendant! It’s like a power source.”

I feel so stupid. Who would even believe something like that? It’s so farfetched even I didn’t believe it at first. But Tao just nods, voice coming out in a monotone.

“So if Luhan’s gone you’ll be safe?” he asks me.

I confirm what he says, “Something like that.”

“You’re not bad are you?” there is wavering emotion in his voice, as if he’s still judging.

“What?”

Tao shakes his head, as if trying to clear himself of his doubts. The normally warm look comes to his eyes.

“It’s OK, I believe you.”

He reaches out and laces my fingers with his.

It takes a bit of coercion to get Tao to leave me so we can go our separate ways home but finally I convince him that I’ll be OK. It’s crazy. I don’t know how he did it, especially as a mere human, but Tao saved me today. I’m so weak on so many levels, emotionally and physically. I hate the way I’m relying so much on other people. On top of that I can’t help but wonder was I right to tell Tao those things about Luhan when I myself am not even sure of it. But I panicked. I don’t want him to distrust me.

---

Morning comes and Kai greets me smiling as usual when I enter the school gates. I can’t match his enthusiasm.

“Hey,” he says and drapes his arm over my shoulder. “There’s my favorite minion.”

“Hey, Kai.”

“You look a bit worse than usual. Did you miss me that badly?”

I shake my head and decide to just say what had been on my mind.

“You were wrong. I was attacked again.”

Kai looks surprised and worried. His eyes sweep my body for bruises and his voice is actually laced with concern.

“Last night? Why didn’t you call me?”

“I’m not dead am I?” I counter with a shake of my head. “I don’t know. I was too messed up in the head to think properly after that. Tao was with me.”

Kai stops walking then and grabs my hand. I stop as well, turning to face him. He looks so uncharacteristic right now. He’s usually so cool and control but I’ve thrown him way off.

“Tao was with you?” he repeats.

I nod in the affirmative.

“And neither of you are dead?”

I actually chuckle, “Do you have such little faith in me?”

“I have 0 faith in you,” Kai admits, not enjoying my rare attempt at a joke. “Well when it comes to fighting at least, for now. But you’ll get there.”

I sigh, “Tao fought it.”

“Tao,” he sounds like I just told the most incredible lie. “Tao fought the homer.?”

“I’m not lying,” I assure him. “It’s true. He did. But he couldn’t kill it.”

“Or more like he wouldn’t kill it,” corrected Kai. “He’s not normal, no. Oh! This is so messy!”

Kai turns away, crossing one arm and running his hand through his hair in frustration.

“I… I don’t know but I panicked. He asked me what I was. I didn’t tell him but I said Luhan was after me and—“

“So you shared intelligence with the enemy?” Kai said turning.

My shoulders deflate. Tao, the enemy? As much as I hate to admit it, but it’s a real possibility. Anything is a possibility. I want to think it isn’t but the way things are looking anyone was a potential enemy. Anyone except Kai. Is that what he wants me to believe? Either way though I know I have behaved recklessly.

I raise my hand, pressing my palm to my temple.

“I’m going crazy,” I say. “I’m officially losing it.”

“Sehun?” Kai holds both of my shoulders.

“I don’t know what’s up or what’s down. What’s wrong or what’s right. I don’t understand Tao. I don’t understand you or Luhan either. I just… Why does this have to be so complicated?”

“Sehun, I think you should sit down,” he leads me to the shade of a tree.

I sit without much effort on his part and to me surprise he joins me. I don’t care about the fact that everyone can see us when he coaxes my head to recline and set my head upon his lap. His lap pillow is so comforting and I turn, curling further against him taking in the scent of Kai and grass.

“Relax,” he says softly. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. What happened last night doesn’t matter. Just relax.”

He threads his fingers through my hair and my eyes close.

“Let’s just forget all of this. Let’s just take the day off and relax,” Kai suggests.

I hum noncommittally but it does sound nice.

“You’re stressed. I’m sorry. Part of this is my fault.”

I let my arms wrap around his torso.

“You’re so cute like this,” he coos and I open my eyes and glance up.

“I could kiss you,” he finishes.

“Then kiss me,” I reply.

With that I sit up as he leans down and our lips meet. It’s brief and I let myself fall back against his lap.

“I feel better now,” I say.

“Good.”

We remain that way a few moments more without moving. After a while the grass rustles with approaching footsteps and I turn to look only to see Tao coming close. I sit up as Kai stands.

“Jongin,” he greets. “Sehun. Good morning.”

“What is it?” Kai asks, straight to the point.

I slowly stand up as well and brush some stray blades of grass from my pants. Tao reaches into his pocket and produces a crystal, but not just any crystal. It’s a soul gem. He takes my hand and deposits the gem in the center of my palm before closing my fingers around it.

He looks straight into my eyes, seeking approval like a child.

“It’s Luhan’s. He won’t be bothering you anymore.”

-to be continued-

AN: oooh snap! so Tao... what's up with that kid? And is he really confused about everything? Of course I know but reading this chapter if I were the reader wow! There are just so many things to pick out. Also Kai was wrong and he was attacked again! And what happened with Luhan?

Comments, crit, etc are all very very much welcome! I want them all! Upvotes and subs too are very much appreciated. Thank you everyone for supporting this odd tale!

As far as Sekai or Taohun goes though; in responce to one commentor I figure I'd share it here since probably others are wondering. I didn't intend to make it seem like it is going to be taohun. actually I felt like this fic is already way biased to sekai! so i was so shockd when I saw someone thought it was too taohun bias. Anyway I had to make the tao moments because well... he hasn't been in the fic for a while now! So now he's back and now the fight for sehun will wage on! Seeyou!