{Baekhyun}

“Baekhyun, don’t you think something is not right? It’s been almost five months now and the Head has not shown any signs of himself.” Suho says to me over my new phone, which I had finally managed to buy.

“Yea…and the problem is?” I ask even though I already know what he is getting at.

“The problem is that it’s too suspicious. It’s not like the Head to let us off like that. Once that guy has his mind on something, he will get it. And nothing will stop him.” His voice sounds solemn and is full of warning.

As if on cue, a shiver runs down my spine when it occurs to me that the thing the Head has his mind on is recruiting Jihae into his pack.

Entering his mind the previous time made me realise the sheer determination the Head had. He really wanted to recruit Jihae, and the desire was probably two times more than it had been when he wanted to recruit me.

Obviously I knew something was fishy, but what was I going to do about it? Tell Jihae that she is not safe? Of course not.

“I know that hyung, but what can I do?”

“Read his mind.” Suho says firmly. It’s the same suggestion. I sigh, since when did reading his mind become the only way of answering our questions? “Baekhyun? Are you there?”

“Yea.”

“Will you read his mind?”

“Yea.” I frown to myself.

I inhale deeply before entering his pool of thoughts. I close my eyes and think of nothing but the Head. Only him and nothing else. No distractions. And when no thoughts fills my mind, my eyebrow raises and confusion swims in my head.

“Can you send me a picture of the Head?” I ask Suho. And within seconds I receive a new message. Opening it up, I see the Head in a uniform as he stands in front of a white background. He looks a lot younger and less menacing and I realise this must have been from high school. 

I carefully scan the features of the Head on the photo. Still nothing. Nothing comes to my mind.

At first I think perhaps somehow have lost the ability to read minds, but when I think of Suho, his thoughts entered my mind. What’s taking Baekhyun so long?

“Suho hyung? I can’t seem to read his mind.” I say over to the receiver.

“WHAT?”

“Can you send me a photo of Donghae?” Perhaps reading his packmate’s thought will teach me a thing or two.

I gulp when I read his thoughts. It’s Suho’s voice that snaps me out of my trance. “Baekhyun what is it?”

“Hyung, the Head…He’s dead.” I break the news to him.

•••••

After Kai returns with Sehun by his side, Suho begins asking me. “Are you sure he’s dead?” Suho had requested for an immediate gathering of EXO-K after I had told him about the Head’s death.

“How can he be dead?” Sehun asks.

“Yea he seemed so strong just five months ago! Was he killed?” Chanyeol adds.

“I don’t know, pass me another one of his mates.” I say and Suho hands me his phone. A picture of Ryeowook on the screen.

A mental image of the Head being cremated pops into my mind.

But I don’t stop there. I need more answers. I dig deeper into the younger’s mind, hoping to discover the reason behind his death. And when I come across an image of the Head lying on a hospital bed, I finally get my answers.

“He was sick,” I tell them.

“With what?” D.O asks.

I search deeper, and then a single thought answers our questions.

I hope Hyung dies soon. I hope the AIDs kills him fast. It’s already been six years since he found out.

“He had AIDs.” I say. “It’s been six years.”

“Well no wonder, that guy has always been fooling around.” Kai snaps.

“Is that the reason he let us off?” Chanyeol asks.

“I think so,” D.O answers. “If not then why would he ever do such a thing?”

“’cause we’re unbeatable!” Sehun exclaims and laughter starts filling the air. I should be happy, I should be happy that he is finally dead. But something tells me otherwise. Something tells me things can’t be that simple.

Suho notices the conflicted feelings written on my face and as though he knows what’s on my mind, he asks, “you don’t think it’s that simple do you Baekhyun?” I shake my head.

“Give me a moment,” I tell them and resume to focusing on Ryeowook’s mind. I try to search deeper, to uncover deeper and older thoughts while throwing those irrelevant ones out of the way.

No! A scream pierces through my head rendering me helpless as I clasp my hands onto the sides of my head.

“Hyung! Are you okay?” Kai reaches for my arm and holds me up steadily.

“I’m fine,” I lie. I know I should stop going deeper into Ryeowook’s mind, that the scream must have been some sort of trigger warning. But that scream came from someone I know. The familiarity was yelling at me.

Baekhyun! This time the voice screams my name and suddenly all becomes clear. That articulation of my name is enough for me to figure out who that voice belongs to. But still I wasn’t hundred percent sure.

A gunshot then rings in my head, followed by the image of Jihae falling over to the ground, her body surrounded by an ugly pool of blood.

“My phone…” My speech is barely audible, a result of the distress from the disturbing image. “GIVE ME MY PHONE!” I shout to them because I’m not sure if my knees can bring me there before I collapse. They don’t hesitate and reach for my phone from the coffee table. 

 “Hello?” The sound of Jihae’s voice calms me immediately, it is that effective.

“Jihae! Thank god you’re fine.” I shout over to the phone, beaming like a child who just received candy.

“Why would I not be?” Her laugher is audible even across the phone.  

“Well…I just—” I hesitated on revealing to her about what happened, afraid the truth might scare her just like it had for me.

“Sorry Baekhyun, I need to go now, call you back later!” Jihae ends the call just as I hadn’t finished making up my mind.

“Baekhyun! What happened? Why did you suddenly call Jihae?” Suho’s quizzical look piercing into me.

“I-I saw an image of Jihae being shot.” The words sound foreign coming out of my mouth, perhaps due to the fact I am so afraid it is the truth.

 “Wait what? But she’s still alive?” Sehun asks

“Yea.”

“Could that have been just a thought of Ryeowook?” Chanyeol suggests.

“It can’t be. I only get images when the person has actually seen it with his own eyes, thoughts are a whole different thing.” I explain, but how I hoped it was purely just a thought. But things couldn’t be that simple.

“But…If it’s not a thought, and it’s not an experience. Then what was it?” Kai asks.

A blanket of silence engulfs the room. I try hard to fend off their thoughts because each one of them has questions flying in their head, just like I do.

But suddenly I thought of something, something that might just change everything. “Suho, what’s Ryeowook’s power?” My fingers are crossed, hoping that I am wrong.

“Predicting the future.” He answers me. And then I see his eyes widen, probably realising what I have suspected. “You don’t think?”

“Yes I do hyung,” my words come out in a cry, somewhat like a desperate plea. “I think it’s a vision of the future. Jihae…she’s destined to die.”