{Jihae}

“Baekhyun?” My voice comes out weaker and hoarser than I had expected it to be. My hand reaches around for the floor until I get a good hold of the floor. I put my body weight on my hand and stand up.

“Is it really you?” I ask and he nods and smiles at me. I miss that smile.

“Byun Baekhyun?” I confirm again, uncertainty flooding my face.

“Yes.” He replies and I realise how much I’ve waited for this moment. To be able to see his face, to be able to hear his voice. The corners of my lips curve up slowly as it forms a smile. I want to walk to him, but my legs wobbled and I fall to floor.

He runs over immediately to holds me up. “Are you okay?” His voice soft and gentle as he holds me up. That’s when I pull him in for a tight hug. My tears drip onto his shoulder as my hands wrap tightly around his neck. I feel his around my waist.  

“I’m sorry.” He says. His voice is like a sweet symphony to my ears, his hands feel familiar as they hold me tightly. His fingers gently caressing my hair.  

“I love you.” I garner enough vocal strength and whisper those words into his ears. I want to stop crying so badly, I don’t want him to see me like that.

“I love you too.” He replies.

I love you too. Those four words resonates in my ear drums as my hands lessen their embracement and I lean away from him slightly. He misses me too? I should be happy he said that. I should be feeling intense joy and blissfulness.

But this emotion boiling inside of me…why does it feel like anger?

And that is when I completely pull away from him. I glance at the guy I yearned for so much the past year for one last time before I make a run for it. I don’t know where I am heading as I run pass the dozens of doors in the hallway. All I know is that I don’t want to see Baekhyun. At least not now.  

Those four words he said to me earlier. He said he loved me. He said that. But if he loved me, why did he leave me? I turn back and am surprised that I don’t see Baekhyun following behind. I guess he really doesn’t love me that much.

And at the small dark corner of the hotel room, I just collapse on the red carpet, not wanting to devote any of my inexistent strength to running, or even standing up. My head leaned against the velvet blue wall. The tears forming a stream from the corners of my eyes to the sides of my chin. I let it flow.

And as I close my eyes, I feel the weight of the world pressed on my shoulders. I just want everything to disappear right now. It isn’t necessary a death wish. More like to sleep and perhaps never wake up.

It really is ironic that the person I was desperately searching for was just right in front of me a few moments ago, and yet I ran away. I scratch my hair in frustration.

Jihae! What the hell are you doing? You came all the way to Beijing to find him. And he is here right now and you just ran away? What are you stupid?

My sensible self nags at me as I thought about my earlier actions. Maybe Luhan was right, maybe I really was not prepared to see him. I feel my head getting heavier and heavier as I press it against my palm.

Damn it. Will Baekhyun think that I hate him? Will he just leave because I ran away? He won’t right? He won’t. He can’t.

I stand up uneasily with the help of the wall as my balance support, I make my way back to room 502. But with each step I took, I feel the piercing pain at the back of my head worsen. I blink a few times as my vision starts blurring.

Is it just me or does the world suddenly look disjointed?

The last thing I make out through my eyes is a blurred image of Baekhyun. And the world becomes black.

•••••

 “Okay, Baekhyun. Tell me the full story. Now.” I assume it’s Luhan’s voice I hear.

“Well, I met her just now at the hallway. She was crying outside my hotel room. And when I walked up to her, she hugged me and then ran away from me.” Baekhyun says.

I didn’t know where the voices came from. Is this a dream? But their voices were so distinct and clear. It couldn't be my imagination.

“Wait…wait. She ran away from you?” Luhan asks and I realise I must be stuck in some comatose state or something. I can hear their voices but I can’t seem to peer my eyelids open, neither can I seem to command any part of my body to move. I feel numb.

“After I told her I loved her too.”

“How is that even possible? She came all the way here just to find you Baekhyun! Why would she run away from you?” The shock in Luhan’s voice is unmistakable.

I hear someone taking something from beside my ear and I guess it’s probably the photo frame on my bedside table.

“She must have really missed me huh?” Baekhyun asks and I desperately want to get out of bed and shout “You have no idea!” at Baekhyun. But Luhan does it for me.

 “You have no idea.”

I try once again to open my mouth, but I can’t seem to move a single muscle. I want to ask Baekhyun questions. I want answers. But I don’t know how I’m going to manage that with my mouth sealed.

 “I need to ask you something. I think we all deserve to know this.” It’s as though Luhan can read my thoughts.

“What?” Baekhyun asks.

“Why did you leave Baekhyun?”

“I left because I had to visit my ill grandmother in Beijing.” His answer is obviously a lie and I can tell Luhan knows that by his immediate respond.

“What do you take me for Baekhyun? I’m not an idiot, I can differentiate between the truth and a really bad lie.” I would have laughed inwardly if I can ignore that stare that I’m currently in. Because the truth is that Luhan cannot tell the difference sometimes. If not all the truth about the mutant world would have already been made known to him.

“Hyung I’m not lying. You can ask my family friends, they accompanied me to Beijing as well.” It takes me a while to put two to two together and figure out that he is referring to the EXO-K pack.

“Look. I’m not falling for another of your lies Baekhyun. I think we all deserve to know the truth.” Luhan creases his eyebrows as he speaks. My eyelids finally budge open and I see the both of them standing by my bed. I’m in my hotel room with the sheets covered around me.

“Baekhyun?” I call out to him. He turns around and helps me up.

“Luhan can you leave the two of us alone for a while?” I ask. Luhan thinks for a moment before sighing and he takes his leave.

As soon as the door clicks shut behind Luhan, Baekhyun’s eyes focuses on my face and then onto my eyes. He leans in and I feel his soft warm lips pressed against my forehead. It takes a while before he pulls away.

“I’m sorry.” He apologises once again. Silence envelopes the air as none of us says anything, just exchanging gazes as though eyes have the ability to speak for themselves.

“Can you please tell me the truth and nothing but the truth?” I ask. He closes his eyes and nods.

“Look, one of the Head’s guys predicted something,” He tells me.

“What?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” He looks at me. As soon as he says that, anger overwhelms me once again and I find myself shouting at him.

“Baekhyun! I’ve waited for you for an entire year! Ever since the day you left I’ve never had a good night sleep! You promised you’d come back and you broke that promise. The least you can do now is to tell me the truth!” My voice cracks and I cough to relieve the pain.

Baekhyun’s gaze winces as though he’s in pain. He takes my hand and holds it tightly. “I know you’ve gone through a lot Jihae. I know. I always know.”

“Then why didn’t you come back?”

“I needed to carry out some errands.” He says.

“And what would that be?” Annoyance filing my tone.

“To make sure you won’t die.” His voice adopts a grave tone and it makes a shiver go down my spine for a moment.

“Then where were you when I almost killed myself?” My voice comes out in a screech. And I sound like a helpless puppy when it’s separated from its mother.

Baekhyun immediately pulls me into his arms. He hugs me tightly and that’s when I see the tears in his eyes. “I had to stay away Jihae. I had to.” He cries and for a moment I suspect perhaps he’s been through tougher times than I have.

“What did they predict?”

 “He predicted that you’d be shot dead.” Baekhyun looks torn apart just by saying those few words. My mouth drops agape as distress overwhelms me. I’m going to die? He senses my anguish and pulls me in closer, his chin on my head.

“Don’t worry, none of that is going to happen now.” He whispers into my ears. “I left to alter the future. You’re safe Jihae. I promise.”